Luke Vader series 123: Completely posted now!
by Mireilles3
Summary: From Slave, to Dark Lord of the Sith, To Jedi, follow Luke, his father and Mara through their different trials for, against, and because of the Emperor. Covers many years...
1. Slave edited

Title: Luke Vader Series 1: From Slave to Dark Lord of the Sith  
Author: SJ  
Author email: skyjade@globetrotter.net  
Category: Between the Trilogies/Rebellion series  
Keywords: Luke, Vader, Mara, the Emperor, Xizor, Leia  
Spoilers: ANH  
Rating: R for mature readers because of its topic  
  
Summary: Six-year-old Luke Skywalker is kidnapped, enslaved, and sold to...   
Darth Vader. From this moment, his life will never be the same and will   
eventually surpass his wildest dreams when he finally earns the right to claim   
his Sith identity after years of secret services to the Emperor.   
  
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned   
by Lucasfilm, Ltd. No money is being made and no infringement is intended.  
  
Author's Note: Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend,   
Adrianne, for her help with the final editing of my new version. Thanks for   
giving me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
  
  
Luke Vader: From Slave to Dark Lord of the Sith  
Part 1: Slave  
SJ 26-04-00/10-00 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
  
  
  
Little Luke Skywalker had known that he shouldn't have gone too far from the   
farm, but his desire for adventure had been too strong to resist it.  
  
He had ventured into the intriguing Dune Sea.  
  
Uncle Owen had often rebuked him about his straying, saying that it was not safe   
for anybody, out there in the sand.  
  
Tonight, he thought in worry, he wouldn't need his uncle to tell him that; he   
now knew what his uncle had meant.  
  
He kicked again against the door of his holding cage.   
  
He had been exploring a dune which had seemed to be calling to him when the   
speeder and its burly passengers had come up on him from the other nearby dune.   
The speeder had flown low, fast--- and straight at him; one of the men had   
grabbed him as he had been trying to run to safety.   
They had first stunned him and thrown him on the backseat, but when he had   
been too rambunctious to their taste...   
  
Well, he admitted with some pride, he had been real bad by pulling their hair   
out and biting them, but they had deserved it; they hadn't wanted to let him go.   
  
Anyway, they had bound him and silenced him, then had put him in the cage that   
was on the back of their speeder.   
  
Despite the extreme warmth, he kept banging on the closed opening, hoping that   
his free feet and legs would be strong enough to force it open.   
  
He didn't know who those persons were, but he knew one thing for sure: they were   
not good people. Even though he was seven years old, well almost..., he could   
feel when people wanted his welfare or not.  
  
They didn't.  
  
A shadow on his left suddenly attracted his attention; he turned his head and   
his eyes widened in fear as he understood where he was being taken.  
  
Jabba's Palace...  
  
He wished that he had been wrong about the men, he thought desperately... then   
resolved to give as much trouble as he could to the men and aliens who would   
dare keep him against his wish.  
  
And he did.  
  
******  
******  
  
  
A few months later.  
  
  
  
Darth Vader hated Naureal.   
  
He hated it because it was far from any decent world, which made it ideal for   
its role as a major trade center for slaves. If only he could put an end to   
that slavery thing, he thought darkly and not for the first time since he had   
unfortunately set foot on the planet.   
  
He walked swiftly down the streets, cursing yet again the fact that he couldn't   
use a speeder in such crowded streets. He tried to block out the calls of the   
slave traders as they offered fresh flesh to whoever could afford their prices.   
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.   
  
Someone nearby was Force-sensitive and was trying hard to use his powers.   
A young, male mind.   
  
Vader scanned further around himself.  
  
He ordered his troops to wait for him before he made his way toward a stage   
that seemed to beckon to him. He came up just in time to see a young, fair-  
haired boy being pulled into view. As he studied the scene, he clinically noted   
that the child was obviously very unhappy about his situation. He scanned him   
with the Force.   
  
He was the one... A genuine Jedi child...   
  
"And the last but not the least: Luke, aged of seven," the woman's suave voice   
rang clearly throughout the whole plaza. "This boy is strong for his age, and   
brilliant. He is very enduring, has stamina and has lived on a farm since his   
young age. We start the bid at twenty thousand."  
  
"Twenty-five," a first alien yelled.  
  
"Thirty-five," a second bid.  
  
"Fifty," a third one added.  
  
Totally oblivious to the ongoing bidding, Vader continued to study the Jedi   
child he had just stumbled onto. The way the boy was tightening his fists yet   
remained passive..., he thought seriously while sifting his mind for a clue as to   
why it seemed important for him--- then he understood.  
  
The child had been drugged, but he was slowly breaking free of it thanks to his   
Force sensitivity.  
  
Most powerful, he surmised warily.  
  
"A hundred thousand," someone said in the crowd.  
  
Nobody answered to that.   
  
"A hundred thousand once, twice---"  
  
"Five hundred thousands," the dark lord offered calmly, perfectly hiding his   
instantaneous disgust at his own behavior.   
  
He had just turned himself into a slaver, the worst kind of being that he could   
meet in his whole life. Of course, he conceded, money wasn't the problem; the   
amount would barely make a nick in his fortune, but a Jedi child... The Emperor   
would not have been pleased if he hadn't just done what he had.  
  
Meanwhile, everybody present around him gasped, then cringed away as they   
recognized who had just purchased the last child. Vader walked forward,   
ignoring their stares of envy and fear.  
  
He was above them; unlike them, he wasn't a true slaver, he was only serving his   
master no matter what it required of him.  
  
"Once, twice, Sold to Lord Vader," the woman purred to him as he approached the   
stage.   
  
Vader didn't look at her as he gave her the credits, then as he took the boy's   
leash from her.   
  
"It's been a pleasure making a deal with you, my Lord. If you ever want more,   
here is my card," she tried nonetheless to take advantage of his showing up at   
her 'doorstep'.  
  
Vader dismissed her attempt to seduce him.   
  
"That one will be enough," he answered curtly as he pulled the boy off the   
stage; he made his way out of the selling court.  
  
  
  
  
  
Luke was aware of the black-clad giant who had just purchased him, 'was' even afraid of him, but he couldn't resist him, just like he hadn't been able to resist his captors ever since they had arrived on that planet. While he docilely followed the dark lord through the city, he wished that his anger would once again allow him to resist the drug.   
  
Ever since he had boarded 'the' transport at Jabba's palace, he had come to   
realize that his anger could allow him to not sleep when his captors tried to   
make him sleep, that it also allowed him to understand what the aliens were   
saying even though he didn't know their language. However, at the moment, his anger didn't seem strong enough to break him free from this new kind of control; he hated not being able to try and escape.  
  
Thankfully, when he and his new master reached the spaceport, the drug finally began to recede from his system and he was able to think 'and' act for himself. The first thing he did was to pull against his leash, trying to pull it free from the other's hold and run away from him.   
  
The second thing he did was gasp in pain as the chain turned to be scalding hot; he instantly let go of it.  
  
*You might be a child, but that will not stop me from punishing you even more if   
you try this again,* he heard in his head.  
  
Luke froze in utter shock; nobody but himself had ever talked to him in his   
head.  
  
*Better,* the voice praised him darkly even as Lord Vader walked onward, as if nothing had happened.  
  
  
  
  
They boarded the shuttle; Vader sat in a seat, then pulled his Jedi child down   
and beside his feet.   
  
The boy sat there, wincing at his rough landing on the deck.  
  
He watched him with interest when he rubbed his aching left ankle. He hadn't   
cried, he noted coolly... The little one was not an average-tempered child. In a way, he conceded that it was a good thing since he wouldn't have much patience for a sniveling baby, but on the other hand, it was foreboding trouble if the child was even slightly defiant. He would have no choice but to teach him the proper behavior in his presence... and he himself didn't particularly care about hurting innocent children.  
  
Especially one who looked eerily like he himself had looked when he had also   
been a slave. From afar, he hadn't noticed the physical traits of the boy, but   
now that he could study him at his leisure, the striking blue eyes and sandy-  
blond hair kept bringing back memories of his own childhood in his mind.  
  
Of course, he thought with annoyance, this was totally ridiculous. It was only   
what the psychologists called compassion thanks to his own experience.  
  
Nothing else.  
  
His shuttle finally lifted off; he continued his silent study.  
  
The child, no more than seven years old, he surmised, was untrained yet seemed   
already able to use the Force. Quite natural, he conceded as he probed his   
senses and felt the turmoil of his dark emotions. Anger, hatred, frustration...   
They were all fueling his latent abilities.   
  
As if sensing his probe, the boy raised his head.  
  
Even as he felt his intention to address him, Vader sent him another warning.   
*Silence.*  
  
The boy's eyes grew large again as he heard him again in his mind; he lowered   
his sight back to the deck and remained silent.   
  
Now, he thought, gazing forward at his approaching flagship, what was he going   
to do with a slave Jedi child?..  
  
  
  
  
Luke wrapped his arms around his knees and tried to warm himself in the cold   
environment of the shuttle. It looked like his cruel guard had had his wish about his being bought by the cruelest master ever, he reflected sadly; Luke knew who Darth Vader was. He was the dark henchman of the Emperor, and he was responsible for some of the worst atrocities in the history of the galaxy.  
  
He had learnt to fear even the mention of his name.  
  
Now he was in his very presence.  
  
Up to now, he knew that his father would've been proud of him, but now... with   
this new master... could he resist him?, he wondered doubtfully. Considering   
the amount of money that he had paid, Vader wouldn't kill him either, he knew;   
he too would punish him.  
  
He clenched his fists and kept his tears inside his eyes.   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
They reached the Dark Lord's ship.   
  
There, Vader went straight to his quarters; the troops left him alone to deal   
with his first and new slave.   
  
Even though he had considered how he would proceed once alone with him, he   
admitted to himself that he still didn't know exactly how to behave with the   
child... except like his former master, whom he hated with a passion, had   
behaved with him. He was doing this for the Emperor, he reminded himself   
seriously to spur himself into bad motion, but he also promised himself to   
deliver the child as soon as possible.  
  
He wouldn't be a slaver any longer than he had to.  
  
Once the door was closed behind them, he pulled the child back to his side and   
freed him from his slave's collar. Even without it, he knew that he would be   
able to control him, but if he didn't have to do so, he wouldn't be constantly   
reminded of what he had done today. That despising bidding to purchase a human   
child... Sighing to himself, he slipped in his already hated role of slaver.  
  
"You are mine now," he told the small child very seriously. "I paid for you and   
you are now my registered property. I am your master," he stated as ominously   
as he could to both gauge the boy's strength of will as well as implicitly warn   
him not to try anything.  
  
"I know..." the child pouted in answer, turning away from him.   
  
Aware that it was a sign of defiance which no slave was allowed to show, Vader   
reflexively grabbed the boy's arm with the Force and whirled him back toward   
himself.  
  
The child instantly took hold of his arm as if to massage it. That's when the   
dark lord became aware of the make-up that was slowly rubbing off from his skin.   
Cover up, he understood even as he crouched in front of the boy to have a better   
look at him; he pulled the boy close to him, careful to not touch his obviously   
sensitive arm.  
  
Although hesitant, the sarong-clothed child didn't resist him and stepped closer   
to him. Where his skin had looked normal, Vader saw that an ugly, very dark   
black and blue was now covering his small biceps. He knew exactly what it   
meant: the child was probably more hard-headed than he had surmised.  
  
"How many more bruises are hidden from me?" he asked the young boy.  
  
  
  
  
Luke remained silent. He didn't know the answer to the question and the tall   
man was shocking him mute with fright.  
  
"When I ask you a question, you will answer me," his slaver suddenly ordered   
menacingly, tightening his hold around his arm.  
  
"I don't know!" he exclaimed instantly, scared to death by the ominous man.  
  
"Would you say many?" the dark lord asked him, not exactly releasing him, but   
not letting him go either.  
  
He nodded energetically, desperate to be released from the other's grip.  
  
"Where?" Vader asked, as if unconcerned.   
  
"Everywhere," Luke tried again as truthfully as he could.  
  
Vader let him go this time; the child took two hasty steps backward.  
  
  
  
"Everywhere?" the dark lord queried in disbelief, straightening back to his   
full height.  
  
He himself had been a slave; he knew that only the most stubborn of the lot   
were--- his thought came to a halt and he merely gazed in the boy's eyes. They   
met his gaze head-on, bravely hiding the film of tears that was working its way   
around them thanks to his palpable fear and despair.   
  
This little one was very much hardheaded, he understood even as he became aware   
of what it meant for him: he would have to be hard with the child.  
  
Meanwhile, the boy gently rubbed his sore arm as he felt him fight against his   
pain.   
  
Vader noticed that more make up came off his skin.  
  
"Come," he ordered him and turned around.  
  
It took him a few seconds to realize that the boy hadn't budge from his place.  
Sighing in heavy resignation, Vader wrapped a Force-leash around his throat,   
then pulled him hard after himself.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Luke was so startled by the invisible pull that he almost fell face first on the   
floor; however, he managed to retain his balance and limped as fast as he could   
after the towering dark lord. The strange leash around his neck disappeared.   
  
How could the dark lord do what he'd done?.., he wondered in fear. He hadn't   
even touched him!   
  
In front of him, Vader entered a luxurious 'fresher. Luke reflexively studied   
the new surroundings, looking for a way to escape his captor. The room was   
spacious, equipped with a deep, black bath that Luke had only ever dreamed   
about, and a similarly black shower stall. Except for those though, the rest of   
the room was white and filled with controls on the wall near the door.  
  
It was a closed room.  
  
As he finished his study, he became aware that water was already going down the   
shower's tap.  
  
Water?! A real shower?!, he gaped wide-eyed. He had never seen such a shower   
except in the holos of the rich and famous people. Of course, he shook his   
head, Lord Vader was the second richest and most famous man in the universe...   
after the Emperor.  
  
The deep voice of his captor pulled him out of his thoughts.  
  
"Take off your clothe and get inside," Vader told him curtly.   
  
"Why?" Luke asked him, unsure about what the dark lord wanted.   
  
First he was asking him about his bruises, and now he was asking him to take off   
what little clothe he still had. Even though he was young, Luke didn't like   
being naked in front of people.   
  
To answer his question, Vader's unseen power forced him into the shower, then   
his piece of fabric was ripped off of him and the door closed.   
  
"While you're in there, boy," the dark lord told him menacingly. "Take the soap   
and wash yourself. You have ten minutes."  
  
He then left the room, the door sealing shut and cutting off the ominous sound   
of his breather. Now alone, Luke instantly tested the door.   
  
He couldn't open it. He tested it again; it still wouldn't move.  
  
Suddenly, the soap fell on his head, implicitly reminding him of what he was   
supposed to do. Reluctantly, he lathered himself, careful not to press too hard   
against the places where his bruises were. The water at his feet quickly turned   
to a peach-brown color as he washed off the make-up that had been used on him.   
  
Then, he simply stood under the water and waited... until his brain caught up   
with him and he became aware that it was the first time ever that he was   
standing under so much water.   
  
It was fun!.., he thought with a slight smile, which quickly saddened once   
again. Too bad that he had had to become a slave to experience this...   
For the millionth time since 'that' day, he wondered if his aunt and uncle had   
figured out what had happened to him... his aunt was probably very worried about   
him... Uncle Owen a bit less so, but he was probably searching for him like he   
had done every time he had been playing too far from the farm.   
  
Suddenly feeling his anger leave him to be replaced by deep sorrow, Luke leaned   
against the wall behind him, closed his eyes, then fought again against his need   
to cry.   
  
No, he tried to strengthen himself. His father wouldn't cry. He wouldn't   
cry... not until he was sure to be left alone for a while.  
  
  
  
In his office, Vader finished his quick instructions concerning the boy.  
After his first evaluation of the boy, he had decided to keep him close by   
instead of locking him up in the main cell bay. Thus, he had requested a droid   
to find small, very straight clothes, a cot and a blanket for the child to sleep   
on. Then, he began his search for a proper 'cell'.  
  
While he did so, he considered his next step. He still had a few things to   
establish about the child, but once he would have all his answers, he would   
contact the Emperor. However, he didn't want to delay that moment anymore than   
necessary. Whether the Emperor would want him or not, he himself couldn't allow him to defy him and the Empire. He hoped that the child would prove to be   
intelligent and understand this quickly. Otherwise, his own resent might just   
express itself in a way he would regret... and he himself would truly regret it,   
he admitted reluctantly while he considered yet again the eerie resemblance   
between himself as a child and the nameless child.  
  
There was something about the boy, he decided, something that was just lurking   
under the surface, but he would make it emerge to the surface. He would find   
out why this child left him more distraught than he had ever felt since... well   
since a long, long time, he thought, forcing down unpleasant memories from the   
past.  
  
He finally found an unused closet where he would be able to 'stash' the   
intriguing child away. All he needed was to activate its delivery trap and he   
would have as efficient an enclosing as he could come up with in his private   
quarters.  
  
Minutes later, the droid returned with the articles he had requested; he himself   
returned in the 'fresher... to the boy who made him feel as if he were looking   
back in the past, he admitted reluctantly. He turned off his shower.  
  
  
  
  
In the shower, the water stopped and the door suddenly opened as the dark lord   
returned. Luke started and took a step backward. Meanwhile, Vader threw him a   
towel, put some clothes on the cubicle beside the bath, then turned away from   
him.  
  
"Dry yourself and wrap the towel around your waist," he ordered. "I want to see   
your real status," he told him calmly.  
  
"My real status?" Luke repeated in confusion. "It---"   
  
A strange pinch warned him to be silent.  
  
The dark lord's voice rumbled up yet again. "Do not speak without permission,   
boy. Didn't they teach you to be silent?" he wondered out loud.   
  
"They tried," Luke answered as he dried himself.  
  
He awkwardly wrapped the medium-sized piece of cloth around his hips, then   
carefully stepped outside the stall, holding himself against the edges of the   
door to secure himself. Vader turned around; he shook his head.   
  
"I see what you mean. Do you wish for me to add to those?" he asked him   
seriously.  
  
"No, I want to go home," Luke told him truthfully, feeling a strange softening   
in the dark lord.  
  
The clothes he'd previously seen suddenly landed on his head, effectively   
smothering it.   
  
"It is impossible, boy," his slaver told him seriously. "I am your new home.  
You would do better to accept it."  
  
Luke took the clothes off of his head and glared at the dark lord.   
Accept it?! He had heard that a lot since he had been kidnapped, and he knew   
what 'it' meant.  
  
"I will never accept it," he yelled in anger. "I am not an animal; I'm a   
person and my name is Luke Skywalker."  
  
  
  
  
The name shocked the dark lord still.  
  
Skywalker??? What?..  
  
Before he could think further though, the defiant child meant to defy him again.  
He himself had heard enough for the moment; he reflexively reached out and   
silenced him for the time being.  
  
"You are my slave now; never forget it," he warned him darkly, mechanically.  
  
In his mind however, thought after thought were running wildly.  
  
Skywalker? Could this boy be his..? No, impossible, he would have been aware of   
this before if his wife had been... pregnant...   
  
A son...  
  
He had a...  
  
Even as he gazed into the suddenly frightened, horrified blue eyes of the   
youngster as he became aware of his forced muteness, he himself 'felt' the truth   
of the boy's words.  
  
Sandy haired, Force sensitive... defiant Skywalker child...  
  
This little one was his son.  
  
The moment that he understood the truth for what it was, an instant foreboding   
feeling crept up his spine. He couldn't bring his young Jedi to the Emperor   
just yet; he would kill him... He would, he thought reluctantly, have to break   
this little one's will... no matter what he had to do until he would be ready to   
join him in his service of the Emperor.   
  
That... changed more than a few things for the both of them, he thought   
seriously even as he involuntarily winced when he caught sight of the boy's   
slave mark, much like his own... He hadn't noticed that up to now.  
  
  
  
  
When the dark lord called him slave once again, Luke tried to retort, but he   
suddenly found himself unable to produce any sound. Instantly worried, he tried   
to speak, still with the same result. His horrified eyes shot upward to meet   
the adult's dangerous if hidden ones.   
  
The both of them remained silent for a long, long while, as if the dark lord was   
taking pleasure in his distress, he thought angrily.  
  
"When you will learn to control your tongue, boy," his captor told him   
seriously. "I shall let you speak again. Now, get dressed and clean up after   
yourself. I will be in the room next door," he ordered, then turned away from   
him.  
  
He left an horrified young Skywalker in his wake.  
  
  
  
  
Away from the boy, Vader took a moment to think clearly about what had just   
rammed into him.  
  
He had a son.  
  
However, the Emperor would want more proof that he was indeed from him before   
allowing him to keep him with himself.  
  
He headed for his medical wing and retrieved a sampling tool. Then, he began   
to consider how he would act with the boy.  
  
Telling him the truth was out of question, he thought immediately. The child   
was too angry and terrified to tell him right now; he would lose him forever   
instead of winning him over. However, hatred and anger were good for him; they   
would make him powerful in time.... In the meantime though, he had turned   
himself into a true slave master, and now had no other choice but to remain one   
until his son learnt how to behave properly.  
  
Wonderful, he sneered in disgust.  
  
Second, he thought seriously as he continued his examination of the situation,   
there was the boy's potential to consider. He had felt his ability to use the   
Force even though he was untrained. If he wanted to reassure the Emperor about   
this, he knew that he would have to train the boy right away to teach him not to   
use his abilities for himself but for his master only. It would also be a way   
for the Emperor to keep an 'eye' on the Jedi child, and hopefully, to convince   
him that he would be more useful alive than dead.  
  
Vader frowned slightly at that, aware of where his thoughts were going.  
  
Keep the child alive? When had he begun to care about life or death?   
  
Even as he tried to tell himself that it wouldn't matter, a fresh memory of his   
son's features came back to him and he sighed in defeat.  
  
No, he didn't want him to die. He had been stolen from him once; he wouldn't   
lose him again and would do anything to keep him with himself. He 'would'   
convince his master to keep Luke alive.  
  
Luke... a strong name, he thought seriously, then sneered slightly in annoyance.  
A strong mind too. Like his mo...  
  
He stopped his thoughts before he could venture into the sensitive territory of   
the past, instead forcing them to focus on how he would 'train' his son while   
keeping him in his slave role until he was ready for the truth.  
  
  
  
  
  
In the 'fresher, Luke remained still for an extra five minutes, trying to   
generate any sound at all, but he couldn't. He was completely, utterly mute.   
Vader wanted him to disappear, to become like a ghost that would serve him, he   
realized.   
  
If he could take his voice, he then thought in horror, he could probably take   
something else like his hearing, or his sight... or his thoughts. He couldn't   
risk loosing that... not now that he was alone, mute and helpless.   
  
He angrily shoved his arms in the arms of the rough shirt that the dark lord had   
found for him, then he did the same with the large, beige pants.   
It was not fair, he thought once more, he had 'no' choice. He should have a   
choice, he whined angrily.   
  
He turned toward the shower, picked a towel and began cleaning it up.  
  
  
  
  
When he was finished, he exited the door and headed for the room next door...   
only there were three such rooms. The three doors were closed and he wasn't   
given any clue as to where Vader was. Even stranger, none of the doors opened   
when he stepped closer.   
  
*Trust your feelings and find me, boy,* the dark lord told him in his head,   
startling him although less violently than the last time that it had happened.  
Luke made a face.   
  
Great, games now. He didn't want to---   
  
*Do it,* Vader ordered ominously, warning him of retributions if he didn't obey.  
  
Scared once again, Luke slowly looked at the doors and tried to decide which one   
felt most 'attractive'.   
  
He headed for the door on his right.   
  
It didn't open.   
  
*Ask me to let you in, boy,* Vader taunted him.  
  
'How?' Luke thought.   
  
Had the Darksider forgotten that he couldn't speak thanks to him?  
  
*Think of me, then imagine that you're talking to me,* he instructed him   
seriously.  
  
At first puzzled, the child made a face and decided to not make a fool of   
himself----   
  
'Okay, okay...' he relented hurriedly.  
  
He imagined the black-clad giant; he surprisingly got a very clear image of   
him. Feeling like a fool, he pretended to talk to him.  
  
*Can I come in?* he asked him.  
  
As he did so, he felt a strange new awareness enter his senses, an awareness   
that allowed him to feel the other's presence on the other side of the door.  
  
*Who am I?* Vader asked him.  
  
Luke sighed since he thought that Vader was playing yet another game. He   
focused like he had done before.   
  
*You're Lord Vader.*  
  
*I'm your master, boy. Now, ask me to let you in, the right way this time.*  
Luke felt the other's satisfaction about this victory. He withdrew from him.   
  
Playing along with whatever game the dark lord was playing was weird but   
bearable, but he simply couldn't imagine calling him by that word. It would   
mean that he thought of himself as a slave. No, he wasn't a slave. He was a   
person.   
  
He had barely taken a step backward when a dark feeling of anger invaded his   
mind from outside----  
  
*Say it.* Vader commanded ominously.  
  
*Please, Master!!* he answered instantly, suddenly very afraid of the dark lord.   
  
The door opened, and he rushed inside. He did not consider himself as a slave,   
he thought seriously, but he admitted that he had no choice but to call the dark   
lord by that word. Suddenly remembering where he was, he refocused on his   
captor.  
  
Vader was comfortably sitting in a large, plush-covered armchair.   
  
"As long as you'll rebel, boy, I will have no choice but to keep you in line,"   
the dark lord explained seriously. "I'd rather not, as I demonstrated, but if   
you do not give me any other choice, I will. Am I clear?"  
  
Luke nodded weakly.   
  
"Good. Less than a moment ago, you learnt another way to communicate with me.   
You will only use it when I contact you first, and you will make sure that   
nobody else but me hear you," he informed him.  
  
Luke raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth to speak.   
  
He didn't have the reflex yet to use that mysterious power that he had just   
discovered.   
  
"How?" the dark lord suggested. "Like I taught you. Think only about myself   
and your message."  
  
Vader was waiting for something... Luke could feel it. Then, his head was   
nudged down, as if he had bowed it.  
  
"When I will give you an order, boy, you will have two choices to answer me.   
Either you acknowledge it mentally, or you'll bow your head in respect, but I   
want either of them," he warned him darkly.  
  
Luke bit his lip in confusion. What did he mean? His head bent down again in   
spite of himself.   
  
"That was the last example I'll give you. Do you understand now?"  
  
Luke thought about it a bit. If Vader gave him an order, or made a demand, he   
had to acknowledge it. Bowing his head would be the easiest of the two choices.   
He nodded to indicate that he understood.   
  
"Good. You will not leave my quarters, under any circumstances, and you will   
stay out of sight unless I tell you otherwise," his slaver continued to instruct   
him, setting his rules clear.  
  
Luke bowed his head, a bit less gracefully than when Vader had nudged him.  
  
"You will do what I tell you, and how I tell you to do it," he continued with   
finality.  
  
Luke bowed again.  
  
"Now come closer; pull up your sleeve." he ordered.   
  
Luke hesitated slightly before stepping forward, but the moment he felt a twinge   
in his back, he hurried forward. He stood as close as he dared to the dark   
lord and pulled up his left sleeve. He winced when he saw his slave mark on his   
arm.   
  
  
  
  
Vader noticed his son's reaction. He had known, from his own experience, that   
the boy would react that way. The mark was a very efficient reminder about who   
you weren't anymore.  
  
"Did you know that you will never be able to erase it from your skin?" he asked   
him as he prepared the tool he needed to take a blood sample.  
  
The boy threw him a terrified look.  
  
"It's unfortunately the truth," he continued more warmly. "Laser marking can   
only be taken care of by having your limb hacked off. I know... I bear such a   
mark myself," he informed him less harshly than his usual.  
  
Even as he admitted this though, he wondered why he had done so. Was it to   
establish some kind of link with the boy? Or because he needed to face the past   
that he was seeing again through his son's predicament? He dismissed the   
question as inconsequential and focused on his chosen task.  
  
He took a blood sample from his son's arm.  
  
  
  
  
Luke jumped slightly when he felt the bite of the sampling tool, but that   
reaction was nothing compared to his shock due to the dark lord's revelation.  
  
He looked at him in disbelief. The powerful dark lord had been a slave before?   
  
"Yes," he nodded in answer to his thoughts, "but I was strong, adapted to the   
situation, and I made the most out of it," he told him seriously. "You are   
lucky in a way, boy. Unlike most masters, I will reward you if you behave, even   
give you back some of your freedom, in time."  
  
Now Luke's eyes really looked as if they were going to fall down from their   
orbits.   
  
His... freedom? He would allow him to go back home??? When?  
  
"In time, boy," Vader continued more seriously, "means that you will have to   
behave, control yourself and prove that you are trustworthy and subservient.   
But if it can help you achieve all this, then yes, keep in mind that you will   
not regret it. I give you my word as a former slave," he finished.  
  
The dark lord didn't say so, but Luke understood that it would be hard to   
achieve what he had just enumerated. Especially that subservience thing... he   
had never liked to be ordered around.  
  
Vader put away the blood sample and let go of his arm.   
  
"I'll show you to your cell now," he told him, reminding him that he might have   
opened up, but the situation was still the same.   
  
Luke reluctantly followed the dark lord down the dark corridor. The man opened   
some kind of secret door. Inside, there was a sleeping roll with a blanket, but   
that was it. It was better than other cells he had been into lately, he thought   
sadly, but it was still small and dark inside. Vader had to nudge him into   
motion to make him step inside.   
  
"When you will be awaken, you will have fifteen minutes to eat breakfast.   
When the door will open, report to me," he instructed him.  
  
Luke looked around himself, remembered to bow his head, then did it more   
obviously to make sure that Vader had seen it.   
  
The door slid shut between them. He sat down hard on his cot and let his tears   
flow freely.   
  
He had never been this miserable since he'd been taken away from his family...   
  
He curled up on the sleeping mat, hid his head in his arms, then he mentally   
hummed the song that he had hummed every night since that dreadful day on   
Tatooine; it was the song that his aunt used to sing to him when he had been a   
younger boy.   
  
He let it carry him into sleep, like every evening since he had been   
kidnapped...   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
In the anteroom of his quarters, Vader inserted the bio sample into his medical   
computer, then waited for the results.   
  
Even though he was already convinced that the result would confirm the boy's   
identity as his son, the confirmation that the boy was his still came as a   
shock, although a dampened one.  
  
He had a son??? How?.. Had Amidala..? Then he remembered the treacherous   
Kenobi. Of course, he realized angrily, Kenobi had hidden from him the fact   
that his wife had been pregnant, then he had hidden her as well.   
He had abandoned his son like an orphan, much like he had deserted his dear,   
beloved wife to let her die shortly after the dark victory of the Emperor...   
She had died in his arms..., Vader remembered sadly, reliving that awful,   
saddest moment in his life which had happened also thanks to the hated Jedi   
Order.   
  
They, not him, had abandoned his son to his fate... to slavery.  
  
Vader's rage rose, pure and powerful.   
  
The cursed Jedi had abandoned his son to fend for himself! He might have been   
in a family before becoming a slave, but it hadn't been his family. If he had   
been with him, he would never have gone through his actual predicament, and he   
himself would not have now to drill him and teach him the proper behavior for   
his future service to the Emperor. He wouldn't have to steel himself for the   
upcoming weeks of despising masquerade of slavery. Force knew how long he would   
have to keep it going with his defiant child...   
  
Luke, his boy, had obviously inherited his mother's stubborness as well as her   
strength of will. If he were to reveal the truth to him now, he knew that would   
never, ever win him to his side, and he would lose him again.   
  
Forever.  
  
No, he decided, he had to first teach him to stay in his place, like any good   
imperial servant, himself included, then he would slowly warm up to him until   
the boy would feel okay with his situation and would be ready for the truth of   
their relationship.   
  
The way to achieve this, he thought as he considered his first Force-test with   
the boy, would truly be to teach him about the Force, then to reward him for his   
good work. That way, Luke would slowly awake and adapt to his new, unique life   
and the destiny that went with it. But now, he had to contact the Emperor and   
tell him about this new Force-user.  
  
  
  
  
The Emperor's holo towered over him.  
  
"Yes, Lord Vader?" the Emperor queried gratingly.  
  
"My master, I am sorry to disturb you, but I found a young Jedi-child today,"   
the dark lord said respectfully.  
  
"A Jedi-child?" the ruler asked, suddenly interested.   
  
Vader nodded in answer.  
  
"He is now my registered property and will not give you any problems," he   
reassured him when he detected the slightest sign of wariness in the ruler.  
  
"A slave?" the other inquired, this time meanly.   
  
He didn't say it out loud, but Vader understood that he was surprised by his   
behavior. It might even please him, he conceded unhappily, but he forced   
himself to remain cool. It wasn't his place to comment his master's thoughts.  
  
"Yes," he admitted seriously. "I request permission to keep him with me and   
train him, Master," he asked solemnly.  
  
The way the other remained silent, Vader prepared himself for either possible   
answers.  
  
"First you purchase a slave Jedi boy, then you want to train him. Are you   
fomenting a rebellion, Lord Vader?" the other asked him warningly.  
  
"No, Master," he hurried to reassure him about his more than unusual behavior.   
"I want to train him to serve you, but he isn't ready for that yet. He needs   
taming first."  
  
"I see," the Emperor mused slightly. "I sense a strange eagerness in your   
voice, Lord Vader. What is so special about this child that you want me to   
grant you permission to keep him?" he asked pointedly.  
  
Vader instantly understood that there would be no hiding anything about his   
son. The Emperor knew him far too well for that.  
  
"He is my son, Master," he answered simply.  
  
This revelation surprised the Emperor.   
  
"Your son?" he queried doubtfully.  
  
"I have the scientific proof, Master. My wife must have hidden it from me at   
the end," he explained reasonably.  
  
"Perhaps," the galactic tyrant reflected slowly as he considered those news.   
"Will this status change his?"  
  
"Not right now, Master. He is not ready for this truth," he reminded him   
seriously. "When he will behave and be more subservient, I will set things   
straight with him. He is six years old," he pointed out coolly.  
  
As if that detail made a complete difference for the galactic ruler, he leaned   
away from the reception field and visibly relaxed. "A mere child" he almost sneered as if it were unimportant now.   
  
Vader pointedly kept himself from mentioning just how powerful the 'mere' child   
was. All in good time, he tempered himself. When the boy's life would not be   
at risk anymore, he would tell him about that.  
  
"He won't be of any use for the moment," the Emperor continued, oblivious to   
Vader's thoughts. "Are you planning to teach him about the Force?" he asked,   
leaning forward again as if worried again.  
  
"Always in the prospect of serving you, Master," he bowed respectfully.  
  
A silence marked a time, then a low hiss that reassured Vader.   
  
His son's life was safe for the moment.  
  
"Permission granted, Lord Vader," he told him reluctantly, "But keep me informed   
then and again, and keep in mind that your first duty is not him," he told him   
warningly.  
  
Vader bowed his head in respect.   
  
"Yes, Master."  
  
The holo disappeared in static, leaving Vader alone.  
  
That last warning had slightly unnerved him, he conceded. The appearance of a   
son in his life was portent of several possibilities; they obviously hadn't   
escaped the Emperor's shrewd mind. Vader made a note to not allow the presence   
of his son to change anything in his life. Only then would he be sure to keep   
him with himself and make it up to him for the life that had been forced onto   
him.  
  
  
  
Minutes later, he made his way toward his specially designed room. As he walked   
past the now inhabited closet, he reached out and checked on the sleeping child.   
He was asleep, but his mind was clouded by grief and sorrow.   
  
The dark lord didn't pay him anymore attention and entered his room, surprising   
himself with the thought that he would like to be able to hold the child in his   
arms and comfort him.   
  
Not very Dark Lord like, he sternly rebuked himself, then went to bed.  
  
It had been a long day.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Luke started awake when a loud buzzing sound went off in his cubicle. The   
moment he moved though, it stopped. Still sleep-disoriented, he looked around   
himself, saw nothing but black, steel walls, and a ration bar.   
  
He slowly sat up, scratching his head as he tried to remember where he was now.   
Then he remembered------- Oh, yeah, Vader... and his strange request to speak to   
him through his mind.   
  
Luke picked up the ration bar and began to eat it. It was tasteless, but at   
least it would help to calm down his growling stomach. At least, 'he' fed him.  
  
He had finished his meager breakfast and was laying again on his cot when his   
door opened. He sat up at this.   
  
Uh? Could he escape now?   
  
'When you'll be finished, report to me,' the dark lord had said.   
  
Luke groaned silently, pushed himself to his small feet, then headed down the   
corridor.   
  
Aww, great, how was he supposed to know where the other was?, he pouted in   
annoyance.   
Then he remembered his experience after his shower and understood; Vader   
expected him to find him again. Reluctantly, Luke closed his eyes, thought   
about the dark lord, then searched for him while he was in the strange state he   
still wasn't used to.   
  
He found him very easily. He even realized that he was still asleep.   
  
Luke walked up to the door, then wondered what he should do. He decided to sit   
down and wait. The door wasn't opening for him anyway.  
  
  
  
  
In his room, Lord Vader awoke to a new glorious day for the dark side.  
  
Today, he was going to take care of a group of resistance in the Pharlax system-  
-- and he was going to train his son, he remembered, snapping his eyes open as   
the memory of the previous day came back to him.  
  
He sat up on his bed and reached out.  
  
The child had heeded his instruction and was dozing near his door, waiting for   
him. Sighing in relief at this first good result, he slowly stretched his arms   
and shoulder blades, then thought about how he would take advantage of this   
first, complete day with his son.  
  
His slave, he sternly reminded himself. For the moment, the boy was his slave   
and had to be treated as such. All right, he conceded with a light sneer of   
disgust at himself. His servant. Now how would he make him serve him, he   
wondered.  
  
He gazed around himself.  
  
Well, first, he decided, he could help him dress--- but he stopped short on this   
idea when he caught a hazy reflection of his real self.  
  
The child would be afraid by his unsightly features.  
  
At first, he debated whether he would dress up first, then call him into   
service, then he shook his head in annoyance at his resurfacing care. If he   
kept it up, the Emperor would order him to kill the child by the end of the day.  
No, he resolved adamantly. He wouldn't doom his son with his weak heart. He   
knew better than that.  
  
The boy was going to live with him from now on, he decided seriously; he would   
see his true self and learn to accept the sight without reacting to it. Then,   
he would serve him his food... and he would think of something else for him   
while eating.  
  
He stood up from his bed and reached out to open the door of his room.  
  
Time to be a slaver, again...  
  
  
  
  
Several minutes later, after having settled the question of the boy's reaction   
to his features, and using his unnecessary help to dress in his armor, Vader sat   
at his dining table and watched the boy from the corner of his eye.   
  
Yes, he surmised, his little one was filled with energy and had a need to move.   
Well, he would provide him with physical things to do. Unbeknown to him, he   
would also begin his Jedi training.  
  
He reached out and prepared his next assignment. Once he was done with this, he   
discreetly studied him again; he really had to learn to still his mind and body,   
he decided with some annoyance. Fidgeting was most despised in the Empire. It   
would be hard, , but this difficult period of his life would do him much good,   
he reflected. And, it would save his life when the time to introduce him to the   
Emperor would come.   
  
He would do what needed to be done to reach this goal, he determined once again.  
On the other hand though, he hoped that his stubborn son would quickly learn to   
obey him without resistance. He had never liked to hurt children or innocents,   
and now that he knew the truth about the boy, he really wished he didn't have to   
hurt him in any way. But if he had to, he would, no matter how bad he felt when   
doing it.   
  
Luke would learn his place.  
  
The dark lord finished his meal, stood up, put on his helmet then turned toward   
the uncertain boy.   
  
  
  
  
The moment the mask was sealed, Luke noticed that the quality of the air   
changed. As if reading his thoughts, the dark lord answered his question.   
  
"The room is filled with pure oxygen for the night. That way, I can take this   
off to sleep and eat. Other rooms are equipped with the same system," he   
explained coolly, then resumed his role of master. "Clear the table, make the   
bed, then put away the remotes which are in the training room."  
  
Luke jerkily nodded his head.   
  
"Tell me when you're finished." *And don't touch this food,* he warned   
dangerously, indicating the remaining fruits and other very good food that was   
left from his breakfast.  
  
Luke was left alone.   
  
He picked the first plate, went toward the place where he had picked them up in   
the first place, touched the control for wash, then brought the other ones   
there.   
  
It was hard not to eat the untouched fruits. They looked so very delicious.   
No, he ached enough right now, he thought glumly. He turned away from the   
appetizing remnants of food, started the clean up cycle, then left the dining   
room. He entered the dark lord's room. The black-sheeted bed was huge.   
He began by doing one side of it, then the other side, then walked from one side   
to the other until it looked right.  
  
And to think that it would be undone tonight and that he would have to do it   
again tomorrow..., he thought unhappily.  
  
He exited the room and checked in the other rooms to find the training room.   
It was hard to miss: it was the only one with about twenty floating remotes in   
the air and no furniture whatsoever. Luke entered the room and looked around   
himself. Was there a control somewhere that he could use to bring them down?   
No. He'd have to pick them or jump after them, he surmised.   
  
He moved forward to take the closest one to his height.   
  
It moved away.  
  
Luke tilted his head at that, tried again, with the same result. He tried   
another remote. The same thing happened. He scratched his head, wondering how   
he'd be able to put them away if they kept moving away from him. He tried   
moving faster on them. Sometimes, he managed to make contact with them, but he   
still couldn't catch them.  
  
About half an hour later, beginning to be fed up with the little things, he   
began to jump at them, hoping to be faster then their sensors. He came close to   
catching them, but they always slipped through his fingers in the end.  
  
  
  
  
He was sitting in the middle of the room, the remotes still hovering above him,   
when he suddenly felt a cold presence invade his mind.  
  
*Have you put away the remotes?* Vader asked him.  
  
Luke took a moment to focus his mind. *No, I can't catch them,* he told him in dejection.  
  
*You can't catch them...* the other rumbled.  
  
Luke understood the undertone of warning. He clenched his fists in displeasure. *Master,* he added.  
  
*Imagine that they are immobile in the air, boy. You'll be able to catch them   
this way,* the man instructed him.  
  
Luke's eyes opened in disbelief. *Just like that?* he asked in doubt.  
  
*Do it, I'll check on you later,* he told him in a dismissive fashion.  
  
Luke was standing up when he realized that the other was still in touch. He   
clenched his teeth. *Yes, Master,* he half-whispered.  
  
He was left alone.  
  
Okay, imagine them still..., he thought, feeling determinate to succeed this   
time. He focused on the closest ball, slowly approached it, then thought that   
it wasn't going to move.   
  
Inches by inches, he moved closer. The ball twitched slightly, but he was   
finally able to hold it in his hands to turn it off.   
  
He dropped it in the waiting box.   
  
Nineteen to go.  
  
The first ones were easy, but the higher ones were not. He had to jump to catch   
them, and he had trouble keeping his focus when he did so.   
  
  
  
  
Two hours later, he was still jumping after the last four remotes. He had   
discovered that when he gathered his muscles for a jump forward instead of   
upward, it was easier for him to still the ball.  
  
He dimly reflected that he felt as if he were a fierce animal on the prowl and   
that he was catching his preys.   
  
At last, he turned off the last remote and dumped it in the box with the others.   
  
*Good, boy. Again now,* his master told him almost immediately, surprising Luke   
with his presence.  
  
He hadn't known that he had been watching him---   
  
The remotes came back to life and flew out of the box to take position all   
around the room. Luke was already drenched in sweat, very tired and sore from   
all his leaping and banging on the walls or the floor, and he was fed up of the   
little hornets.   
  
*Why? What's the point?* he asked him in frustration.  
  
A stinging bolt hit his backside, making him jump in the air, then an other.   
  
*Would you prefer to have to turn them off that way? Gather them up again,*   
Vader ordered angrily.  
  
Luke rubbed his backside, mentally grumbling curses. *Yes, Master,* he finally said.  
  
He darkly eyed the little electronic balls.   
  
'Here we go again.' he thought humorlessly.  
  
  
  
  
It took him almost two hours to turn them all off, but he did.   
  
He shut the box and sat on it to make sure that they wouldn't get out again. He   
then took a long moment to bring his breath back to a normal rate. He was   
tired, and more than sore now. He had lost count of the number of times that he   
had roughly landed on his stomach or side, or against a wall for that matter.   
He gently rubbed his aching shoulder. He was very tired and hoped that his   
captor would let him rest a bit. He also suspected that if he didn't   
contact him soon, he would bring down more punishment upon his poor, painful   
shoulders.   
  
He braced himself. *Master?*  
  
*Not now, stay where you are,* he snapped.  
  
Luke couldn't believe his luck. He almost, almost smiled. *Thank you, Master,* he said gratefully.  
  
He broke the contact and sat cross-legged on the box, resting his head on his   
hand as he closed his eyes.  
  
It wouldn't be as comfortable as the floor, but he didn't dare get up from the   
box.  
  
He had had enough chasing probes for the day.  
  
  
  
  
When the dark lord finally contacted him, Luke nearly fell off his box in shock   
and fear. It took him a moment to refocus.  
  
*Master,* he sent.  
  
*Now that you're finished with this, boy, you may go to the dining room and take   
something to eat, then you'll clean up all the floors of the quarters. I want   
them to shine under the light,* he specified coolly.  
  
Luke sighed. *Yes, Master.*  
  
Great, more chores. And the most frustrating thing, he thought angrily, was   
that Vader had probably never cared about those things before. The boy hopped   
down from his box and headed for the dining room.   
  
  
******  
  
  
The moment that he entered the room, he reflected that Vader had done something   
in the room; he himself remembered having left it empty but for the furniture   
and the deactivated droid. Now, there was some food, if you could call those   
things food... and a message.   
  
'You may eat only one of those choices,' he read, then briefly thanked the gods   
to have allowed him to learn basic reading skills before... well before.  
  
He had the choice between another ration bar, nutrient pills, or a single fruit.   
Since his stomach was growling in starvation, he knew that the fruit wouldn't be   
enough. As good as it might look, he knew he had to choose something else. Not   
feeling up for another tasteless ration bar, he picked the pills and downed them   
with a small quantity of water. That was tasteless too, but at least it was a   
normal feeling, not at all like the disgusting ration bar.  
  
He then picked up the rag and product that was on the floor under the small   
counter; they were obviously the tools that he was supposed to use to wash the   
floor. He began in the corner of the dining room. It soon became obvious to   
him that he had to push hard on the rag to make the floor shine.  
  
He alternated between one arm and the other, giving some rest to the other to be   
able to finish the job.  
  
  
  
******  
  
Later that night, Vader kept an eye on his boy. Not bad for his first day with   
Him, he appraised him with satisfaction. The boy had both begun to work on his physical strength and mental abilities, and he had succeeded his Jedi exercise with very little guidance.  
  
It was a very welcome surprise, he thought seriously; the boy was so powerful   
that once tamed, there was no doubt that the Emperor would want him under his   
wing. He himself knew all too well that the old ruler didn't waste any powerful resource when they became known to him.   
  
Of course, he then conceded, he would need much time to teach the proper behaviors to his young, tough little boy, but in time, he knew that he would bend him to his will. Today had gone very well on that aspect of his masquerade, he thought seriously.   
  
He himself hadn't had to 'play' the role of slaver any more than necessary. He had only had to devise exercises for him, then give him the resulting chores.   
  
If the following days went like that as well, he thought in satisfaction, he   
wouldn't resent his forced role 'too' much, and if the boy continued to learn his lessons this quickly, the lie wouldn't last for much too long anymore...   
  
At least, he hoped so. He really didn't like tormenting him, even if it was the only way to teach him what he had to learn.  
  
When the boy resumed his shaky fidgeting, he 'angrily' dismissed him to his   
cell. He was done for the day, he reflected as he watched the child leave the room, obviously exhausted and in need of rest.  
  
Punishing him was pointless.   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
An hour later, the dark lord cast a sleeping veil over his son's soul, then   
keyed his cell open and stepped inside. Unlike the previous night, he wasn't   
able to resist the lure of his son's close presence.   
  
He 'had' to check up on him before retiring for the night.  
  
The child was sound asleep, his mind a blank thanks to his physical exhaustion.   
Vader crouched beside the small boy, studying his features with great interest.   
  
During the day, the child looked tough and strong, but at the moment, he looked   
anything but that; right now, he could see just how young his boy truly was, how   
much vulnerability he was hiding when in his presence.   
  
He sure had his mother's strength of will, he admitted with dim pride.   
  
Despite the problems that it might mean for the future, he then conceded that he was very glad that his son wasn't weak-minded. However, he thought more seriously, he also hoped that his already-developed intelligence would temper his defiance.   
  
That way, their relationship wouldn't suffer anymore than it already had. And to think, he growled in dark anger, that Kenobi had abandoned him, had left a mere baby to survive on his own, without any guidance about his true inheritance.   
  
When the masquerade would be over, he promised himself that he would make it up   
to his son.   
  
Hesitantly, unsure if he should proceed with his impulse or not, he slowly   
lifted his hand from his lap... and gently stroked his son's sleeping features.  
Even though it wasn't the first time that he was touching the boy, the nature of   
this new physical contact hit him with the power of a lightning bolt.   
  
All of a sudden, he was aware that he really cared about the still estranged boy, not for his powers, nor as a mean of revenge against the Jedi traitors, but for the fact that he was the flesh of his flesh, the blood of his blood.  
  
He was his son, the most important person in his life. He was even more   
important than the Emperor was---  
  
As if scalded by that thought, he swiftly cut their contact and stood back up   
even as he took two steps away from the unaware child.  
  
Whoa, dark Lord, he scolded himself. What was that?.. No one was more important than his master was... Or was there?..   
  
For a long moment, his eyes remained riveted on the small form of his servant.   
  
How could that boy affect him this much, he wondered uneasily even as he grew aware of his desire to just crouch back beside the child and hold him in his arms.  
  
No, he sternly rebuked himself. He would not venture into the emotional   
territories of care and love. Not even for his son. He would protect him,   
teach him what he needed to know to earn the right to fulfill his destiny, but   
he would not care, he resolved seriously.  
  
Casting a last glance down at the sleeping child, he turned on his heel and left   
him alone.   
  
He too needed to rest from his own demanding day.  
  
  
  
  
To be continued in part 2: Slave or Son?  
  
Written: 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)   
(Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff won't even be read.) 


	2. Slave or Son? edited

Luke Vader: From Slave to Dark Lord of the Sith  
Part 2: Slave or Son?  
SJ 26-04-00/10-00 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
______________________  
Disclaimers: None of this belong to me; everything in the Star Wars Universe   
belongs to George Lucas.   
See my home page for more details.   
Http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
  
_____________________  
  
  
  
For both Luke and Vader, the following days seemed to be a repeat of his first   
one, with some variants here and there when Luke's obedience varied.   
  
As it was with every child, Vader quickly understood that his son was testing   
the limits of what he could and couldn't do; he himself tried to make him understand that testing those wasn't a good idea with him.  
  
The intelligent child seemed to catch on pretty quick... with some relapses here   
and there.  
  
When he served him right though, the dark lord began to reward him as he had promised him.   
  
The days merged in weeks, which in turned became months... and the boy turned   
out to truly be his mother's son.   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
Luke had been with Vader for almost four months now.   
  
As his master told him his chores for the day, 'those darn remotes', he reminded himself to not show or even think about that.   
  
He had learnt his lesson regarding the expression of his feelings of resent or displeasure.   
  
  
  
  
He was finally left alone to clean up after the dark lord. Like every morning since he had begun his service under the man's yoke, there were fresh, untouched fruits left in a bowl.   
  
Luke picked up the other plates and noisily shoved them into the cleaner. Then, he studied the remaining bowl.   
  
To him, it seemed like a waste of good food to throw them away without eating them. He knew that he would never waste them if he could.   
  
Hey, what was there to stop him?, he wondered suddenly. He was alone, even that   
useless droid was gone now, and Vader would never know about it since he would throw the rest away.   
  
Looking around himself, just in case he had missed the presence of some kind of surveillance device, he picked the biggest fruit, hurried to eat it, then threw the remains and the rest of the bowl in the recycler.   
  
He then kind of felt bad about what he had just done, but he surmised that it was only because he had never dared do it before.   
  
No, he defied himself, he felt 'good' about doing it. It was his seventh birthday today, so this had been his gift to himself, one he had deserved, he decided in satisfaction.   
  
He resolved not to do it too often though; he somehow had a very bad feeling about this.   
  
Just to make sure that no traces were left of his... disobedience, he washed his mouth and made sure that nothing would betray his action, then he began his day of servitude.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
On the bridge, Vader listened attentively to his master's orders.   
  
He wanted him to spare the rich and powerful during his next attack, but the others were expandable, as he told him.   
  
"As you wish, Master," he bowed in obedience.   
  
"Oh, talking about wishes," the Emperor commented with sudden, very light amusement. "How is your slave progressing, my friend? He certainly grows in the Force," he added more seriously.   
  
Vader noted the undertone of unease in the ruler's voice; he was beginning to worry about the child's powers. "He is progressing well, Master. I estimate that he will break in a few weeks at most."   
  
"He still isn't broken?" the ruler grunted in displeasure. "This is quite... unusual for you, Lord Vader."   
  
"The child is young, Master," he tried to defend his rebellious son. "He doesn't seem to understand just yet what he is allowed to do and what is isn't," he lied even as he reached out to check on his son's activity.   
  
What he felt made him see red in an instant; it was the boy's birthday and---   
  
That little conniving---   
  
Remembering that he was talking with the Emperor, and that his son's safety depended on his behavior in regards to the said boy, he forced himself to recover a cool composure before it was too late.   
  
However, the boy would not get away that easily, he promised himself. That did it this time.   
  
In the reception field, the Emperor continued their conversation as if nothing had happened.   
  
"I must admit that I do have a similar situation with a young experiment, my friend. However," he smiled meanly at him, "I do not spare her when I teach her to behave."   
  
"Neither do I, Master," he answered smoothly even as he felt his dangerous anger grow once again at the admission of what he was doing to his son. "I keep him on a tight leash," he added, then reluctantly conceded that he would also shorten even more his son's territory just as soon as he was done with the Emperor.   
  
And this time, he thought in dangerous frustration, it would not be as a supposed slaver, but as himself, servant of the Emperor who could only take so much defiance from even his son.   
  
He barely heard the rest of the conversation, then the Emperor dismissed him and cut off the transmission.   
  
Even as the other disappeared in a flash of static, he himself whirled angrily away from the receiving station and stalked toward the closest turbolift.   
  
He had a son to discipline, once and for all.   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
When Vader came back in the quarters, Luke was quietly polishing the dark lord's boots as he had been ordered to do.   
  
"Did you think that I wouldn't know about your little defiance?" his master rumbled darkly even as he forcefully pulled him very close to himself.   
  
Luke's eyes grew wide in an instant as he felt the anger, even fury that was suddenly coming off from the dark lord. He had never come off that way in his senses before.   
  
He shook his head in denial, then focused his thoughts. *I haven't done anything---*   
  
"Really? And what about that fruit that you ate moments ago? Or have you forgotten about it already?" the dark lord demanded darkly.   
  
Luke was stricken. He knew...   
  
And he himself now knew what his bad feeling had been about: a warning.   
  
  
  
******   
  
  
The same evening, Vader still couldn't focus on his planning.   
  
He finally accepted defeat and headed for his training room where he vented his impotent rage on the remotes.   
  
Kreth! This time 'he' had really done it!, he berated himself for the hundredth time since the accident of the morning. He had been so angry at his son that he had hurt him like the Emperor would have, he fumed.   
  
Even his own master Watto hadn't been this mean with him when he had misbehaved.   
  
And to think that it was his birthday... He had given him a real slave mark as a gift.   
  
Terrific, he snarled to himself.   
  
Of course, for the sake of their 'masquerade', he couldn't heal him now and that left him in an even more seething mood. Nothing new for this most cursed day of his life.   
  
If only his brat would stop rebelling!.., he raged in dark frustration, he at least wouldn't trigger his dangerous anger--- and he himself didn't want to hurt him anymore! Couldn't the child understand this and behave?! he asked no one. He had really tried to find other ways than physical pain to bend him, but it hadn't produced any results.   
  
Instead, the child had sometimes chosen resistance over a lack of punishment for his obedience... as he had today.   
  
And he himself had reached the end of his patience; his resulting anger had then once again been proven more than dangerous for whoever reached such limits with him...   
  
Not even his love for his son had tampered him... until too late.   
  
Freshly angered at himself, the dark lord spun on his heel and sliced up the four remotes against which he had been fighting, then closed down his blade and hooked it back to his belt.   
  
All right, he thought, being in a somewhat cooler mood now, the child had earned a punishment, definitely much less terrible than what he had inflicted upon him, but he had still earned one. As to why he had done what he had done, he tried to justify himself, he had wanted the boy to learn his lesson once and for all, to put an end to those frequent disciplines.   
  
However, he made a note to himself to never act on his anger ever again with his boy.   
  
Now, he sighed wearily, it remained to be seen if he had succeeded to reach his goal, although the end 'didn't' justify the means in this case.   
  
Somehow, he promised himself while he walked out of the training room, he would find a way to correct the awful mistake of today.   
  
As he stepped out of the training room, he felt sudden feeling of fear coming from his son's cell.   
  
He instantly rushed to his side even as he scanned him--- and realized that the boy was beginning a nightmare.   
  
After making sure that he wouldn't wake up while he would be with him, he stepped inside the cell and knelt by his side.   
  
The first thing that he noticed was the puffy face of his child; he had been crying a lot since he had sent him to his 'room'. Gently, he probed his mind... and understood that ever since he'd had fallen asleep, Luke had constantly been reviving his latest bad moment with him.   
  
His cruel, fearful master.   
  
Not wanting him to suffer anymore than he already had at his hands, or not, Vader reached out and delicately plucked those subconscious thoughts from his boy's mind.   
  
The agitated child instantly quieted down and fell back in more normal sleep.   
Vader then rested the back of his gloved hand against his cheek, as he had done every single time that he had taken a look on his sleeping son.   
  
"I'm so sorry, Son," he told him in a tone of voice that he rarely used, if ever, he dimly conceded. "Please be good now," he begged him earnestly. "I do not wish you any harm."   
  
As if hearing him, the child sleepily snuggled closer, then brought his right... injured hand and wrist into his. Vader watched, bemused and more than a little stricken as his son's small hand sleepily grasped his big hand... in care, he realized. Despite what had happened between them, his son's subconscious could still recognize goodness in him and welcomed it with his own gentleness.   
  
Never in his life had he ever imagined that he would someday hold his son's hand in his own. It made it even more impossible for him to deny the feelings that he had for the boy.   
  
They had been growing throughout the past months, despite his trying to control them. Now, they were definitely inhabiting his heart, especially at this very moment when nothing seemed to stand between them.   
  
He loved him, he admitted openly. He loved his son, and Luke wasn't the only one in need of taming. He himself needed to tame that destructive temper of his, he resolved seriously even as he tightened his grip on his son's hand, then glumly hoped against hope that he hadn't just ruined his chance with his son. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he had.   
  
He refocused on his son's sleeping features and saw him lip a word... a single, most wonderful word.   
  
Father.   
  
Vader once again tightened his hand around his son's, at a loss for word or thought... His feelings took over.   
  
Yes, Father, that was who he was, he nodded in answer to the boy's dream. From now on, that was how he would act with his son, he then resolved.   
  
He knew that his boy had always hoped for someone to protect him, to love him. He had always wanted to know his father. Well, that would be him now. He still couldn't reveal the truth to his son, but he would at least have the satisfaction to not 'touch' him anymore.   
  
He slowly set his son's hand on the rough mat, then stood up and left him to his   
recovery, but not before wishing him a good, healing sleep.   
  
  
  
Just before going to bed himself, he reached out and reinforced his son's healing.   
  
Then he was able to go to bed, knowing that the fire of the boy's last injuries would dissipate while he would be asleep and unaware of it.   
  
  
  
  
******   
  
  
  
  
  
The next morning came too fast for the small boy. He scrunched his face in disappointment as the events of the previous day came back to him.   
  
Yesterday... had been a bad day.   
  
Fighting his tears of remembered pain and absolute fear, he slowly sat up, dimly aware that he didn't ache that much anymore. Just a little stiff where he had been injured.   
  
While he mechanically ate his tasteless breakfast, he considered the said events.   
  
Okay, he finally sighed glumly, he had deserved a punishment. The scary, mean dark lord had made his rules clear the first day that he had been with him, and he himself had also known that he would face the consequences of any defiance.   
  
He also knew that he was totally under Vader's control. Even when he tried to resist him, the bad man was always able to make him do what he wanted him to do. He admitted that while he had always scared him, he was now frightened by the idea of seeing him again... of angering him again.   
  
He really was a bad man, he thought with a shiver.   
  
So, he pouted sadly, it was time to face and accept the fact that Vader truly was his master and that he himself... was a slave.   
  
He might still be a human being, with a name and everything, but here, with his master, he didn't have any rights, any freedom of actions or thoughts; he could only obey Vader.   
  
He didn't even have a voice of his own anymore, he thought glumly as he touched his throat, suddenly fighting fresh tears of despair and fear.   
  
He forced them down.   
  
His door opened a few minutes, like every morning, and like every morning, he forced his fear down, although it was more difficult today, then he headed toward his master's room.   
  
Unlike the other mornings however, he didn't think while he did his chores, didn't show any sign of disgust or anything.   
  
He just obeyed his orders... and did everything he had to do to not anger Vader.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
Vader noticed the change of attitude in the child.   
  
While he silently watched him as he served him his breakfast, he admitted that despite the circumstances, it was a welcome surprise.   
  
He hadn't known what to expect from the boy after the events of the previous day. Fear? Anger? Hatred? Or even his turning into a normal child and not even leave his cell?   
  
The latest reaction wouldn't have surprised him at all, he conceded, but once again, his son was proving to be much more than a mere child.   
  
He was a courageous boy... who was now fighting his unconditional fear of his master to not anger him again...   
  
However, that would be a huge gap to bridge with him before he could be told the truth about their relationship, he thought glumly. He could only hope that he would, in fact, be able to bridge it and that his actions hadn't ruined his future with his boy.   
  
When he threw a silent gaze in the boy's direction, the child instantly avoided his gaze, lowering his head as if in obedience.   
  
Vader couldn't help but wince at that; making it up to him would be another long process. However, he tried to comfort himself, the end would be worth every day this time, and Luke would not 'pay' for his new tactics.   
  
Instead, he should like them, well, most of them, he conceded while he thought about the 'homely' chores that he could give him to train him further in the Force. No one really liked chores, or so he had been told, but until he could tell the truth to his son, he would have no choice but to keep up the masquerade, and what better way to cover up than to make him clean up his quarters?   
  
He spent the rest of his meal in silence, then left without a word.   
  
The child already knew what he had to do for the day: complete the chores of the previous day.   
  
As he left his quarters, he prayed the Force that his son would truly behave from now on.   
  
  
  
******   
  
  
  
To his relief, his son's good behavior lasted.   
  
About a week later, Vader checked on his sleeping son, like he was doing every few nights now.   
  
The child looked angelic when asleep. He crouched at his side and gently stroked his sweaty hair out of his eyes while he brushed his mind with his, careful to not awake him.   
  
While he mentally caressed his mind, he once again felt as well as saw the decisive turn of mind that his young son had taken.   
  
He had finally accepted his situation. Phase one was truly over, he sighed in relief. If he considered his son's thoughts, he shouldn't rebel against him ever again.   
  
He then admitted that he hoped so because he himself had tried yet again to come up with ways to keep him in line, if ever needed again, without hurting him, and he had had much trouble coming up with ideas. He had thanked the Force every night of the past week for not having to discipline his child during the day.   
  
He once again stroked his son's sleeping mind, then slowly withdrew from the contact. Now, if only his son could learn to see himself as part of his life and not just as forced into it, he would be able to reveal the truth to him. Of course, he then conceded reasonably, phase two would be time consuming, especially since he had managed to scare the child to death.   
  
He couldn't approach him anymore without making him stifle in reaction, but he would be patient, he thought warmly; he would bring up his son in the ways of the Force and other imperial ways until he felt the connection between them. He would also show him care, shyly at first, then more obviously.   
  
In time, they would truly be together, he resolved.   
  
Luke agitatedly stirred in his sleep, as if caught in a nightmare. Vader knew that the child had had many of those lately. He gently stroked his cheek. "Don't fear, little Jedi. Father's here now... nobody will ever kidnap you nor hurt you again. I give you my word," he told him soothingly.   
  
And he meant it.   
  
The young Jedi quieted down under his gentle touch.   
  
Once he was sure that no more bad dreams would invade his son's mind, he stood up and left him to his rest. He had another busy day for him tomorrow.   
  
Besides, his young Jedi needed his rest. Levitation skills had a knack to drain a beginner from all its energies.   
  
  
  
  
******   
  
  
  
  
  
Two new months passed by without any events, either positive or negative. Luke   
did his job, even if it was difficult sometimes, but he did it without   
complaining, not even in the privacy of his thoughts.   
  
  
  
  
One of his chores today was to dust the living quarters without using his hands.   
Weeks ago, the instructions had looked strange and undoable to the young, now   
obedient child, but once his master had taught him how to use his new sense to   
lift the wet rag, his opinion had changed, once he had gotten over his awe of   
course.  
  
As he used the Force yet again to dust an upper shelf with his damp rag, he   
Considered the past month.  
  
The first time that he had had to dust those shelves, he remembered that he had   
barely managed to finish the first two shelves that were out of his reach before   
his master had returned. However, now that he knew how to use his feelings to   
focus his abilities, he could easily finish the three huge book cases in a   
little over half a day and could use the rest of it to read the book of his   
choice.  
  
The first time that his master had given him this privilege, after he had served   
him well, he had barely been able to believe his ears, but it had come back   
every week, motivating him to improve his performance until he had more   
than ten minutes free to actually practice his reading skills. It had been a   
long while since he had been able to practice the skills that he had begun to   
learn at school back home.  
  
The book he was reading right now was dealing with the Sith skills that he had   
begun to learn. He now knew that his master had purchased him because he was a   
Jedi-child, however impossible that seemed... He, little Luke Skywalker, was a being who could tap into the incredible source of power that was the Force, especially now that he was learning how to do it.   
  
He gaped as he read the description of what he might someday be able to do.  
  
Lift a ship? It would require much harder practice and more seriousness from   
his part to be able to achieve 'that', he reflected doubtfully. As he read on, he also surmised that he would need to become strong physically to be able to do some of the physical feats that were described in the book.   
  
Perhaps if he were free, he began glumly, then he could hope to someday become like that, but--- he stopped in mid-thought.  
  
He didn't have to be free to accomplish those, he rebuked himself even as he considered the chores that he had to accomplish on a regular basis; his master   
was already giving him all the exercises and instructions that he needed to work   
on those abilities and become like the dark Jedis who were described in the   
books.  
  
Then he could make 'this' dream come true, he smiled, then turned somber once again.  
  
And then perhaps, Vader would keep his promise and set him free. It was a wild wish, but he really believed in the dark lord's word about his promise to reward him if he served him well.  
  
And the way he had said it, it could only mean that he would free him, Luke thought dreamily.   
  
However, he admitted shyly that if he didn't, he would still love to learn those   
skills. He really liked it when he could complete his physical chores, proving   
that he was strong, and it was even truer when they involved Force exercises.  
  
Yes, he decided, he 'could' become a Sith too; from now on, he'd serve Vader   
better than before, but for himself this time.  
  
  
  
  
Thus, Luke tried to improve his time whenever he had to put away the remotes,   
strained harder against the deck when he had to make it shine, then did the same   
with his mind when he cleaned the walls and ceiling.   
  
He also used the Force as often as he could to accomplish his tasks. Whether it   
was to make the bed or reach anything that was too big or out of his reach, he   
exercised his control over his mental 'hands'. He also worked on the control of   
his mind in his master's presence and finally figured out how to not fidget.   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
At first, his master didn't seem to notice anything, merely giving him his   
chores and barely keeping an eye on him, but Luke wasn't duped anymore by his   
pretense of not paying attention.   
  
Hence, one day, he wasn't very surprised to discover that his master was,   
indeed, aware of his progress.  
  
His breakfast was changed to a ration bar and a fresh fruits, then, days later,   
to fruits and real bread. It never changed after that.  
  
Then, later on, another change occurred: he was allowed free time when he had   
finished his chores. While he still wasn't allowed outside of the quarters,   
Vader gave him free access to his library, the training room, and even a   
computer station which was equipped with simulator programs. Luke particularly   
loved that one and worked hard on learning how to fly his ship without crashing   
in the landing bay.  
  
Then, when the chores became more difficult for him and that he failed them   
despite his best efforts, Vader didn't punish him. Instead, his master, who was   
aware of his efforts, took the time to teach him more specifically about how to use his new skills while maintaining realistic expectancies in regards to his development.  
  
And so it went for months until Luke decided that even without the threats of discipline, he wouldn't turn down Vader's training anymore.   
  
For one thing, the chores were more interesting than working on the farm.  
  
And they helped him to grow in the Force.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
That evening, Luke stood in the corner of his master's office, quietly waiting for his orders while not disturbing him; except for his slight breathing, he was as still as a status. It was quite the opposite of how he was during his daily chores, he reflected dimly, then shrugged as he reminded himself that this was how his master wanted him to be right now.   
  
Vader wanted him to express his feelings through his uses of the Force during the day, and to be quiet when the evening came and that he returned from his own work for the galactic Emperor.   
  
One other thing that Luke did, although that was his own decision for this one, was to keep his eyes away from his master's computer activities so as to not be reprimanded for 'spying' on him. His master had never punished him about that, he thought dimly, but he didn't want to risk it.   
  
He had learnt his lesson.   
  
His master suddenly beckoned him closer, pulling him out of his thoughts. Even though Luke was practically unable to believe what had just happened, he hurried to obey his master's surprising request. While he silently stepped closer, his master slightly pulled away from his desk to allow him to see the screen of his computer.   
  
"Watch attentively, boy," he instructed him. "From now on, you'll clean up the   
memory of my computer."   
  
Luke was instantly elated by this new privilege. He had always wanted to work on the computers in the quarters, especially since he had gained access to the flight simulator programs.   
  
"Whenever I work in the framework, temporary files are created and remain there   
until I clear them away," Vader explained coolly. "It is a tedious, time consuming work to do so myself. Every day, once you'll be done with my room, you'll clear them out," he instructed seriously.   
  
*Yes, Master.* Luke sent, looking at his master with barely concealed eagerness.   
  
"Now look."   
  
The boy refocused on the screen and began to study what he had always seen from the corner of his eye yet had never allowed himself to memorize. The dark lord showed him how to clean up the myriad of files that were hidden in the framework.   
  
Once he had shown it to him, he told him to give it a try.   
  
Luke took hold of the seeker with his right hand, searched... and found a file on his first try.   
  
"Good," his master praised. "You're a quick-learner, child."   
  
*Thank you, Master,* he answered, bowing his head to hide his blush of pride.   
  
It was one of the first time that the dark lord had openly congratulated him for his success--- From his lowered point of view, he saw the other's hand make a gesture in his direction. He reflexively stifled in sudden uneasiness, then, when no punishment followed, became aware that the gesture was familiar somehow...   
  
"From now on, boy," Vader told him less coolly than usually, "you may talk out loud when we're together," he informed him.   
  
"Aloud?" Luke whispered, almost disbelieving the order. He gasped as he heard his voice once again. He stopped mute again, this time in shock. "I... can really speak?" he asked, keeping his voice down to not anger his master if he had misunderstood him.   
  
He dimly noticed that he didn't seem to retain any side-effects from his almost year-long silence.   
  
"I told you that once you had learnt to control your tongue I would give your voice back to you. I always keep my word, young one," Vader told him with a very slight touch of gentleness in his voice...   
  
Or perhaps it was just his imagination, Luke thought carefully as he brought his hand to his throat, still shocked by the suddenness of his return to normal.   
  
He could talk again..., he had managed to earn back his voice, and Vader had just told him that he kept his word.   
  
If he served him right, he thought hopefully, he would also keep his word about his freedom. He could feel it.   
  
Aware that the other was watching him, probably waiting for him to pay attention once again, Luke dropped his hand back to his side, then bowed his head in respect and said: "Thank you, Master. Thank you very much."   
  
"I trust that I will not have to do it again," Vader warned as he initiated the   
locking down procedures of the computer.   
  
"No, Master," he answered earnestly even as he stepped away from the desk to give more room to his master.   
  
  
  
  
  
That night, the boy hummed his aunt's lullaby to go to sleep; he could do it for real this time! He could really speak!.. He wasn't mute anymore!   
  
Tears of joys streamed down his cheeks as he hummed the sweet song.   
  
  
  
  
Just outside of the child's cell, Vader eavesdropped on his son's moment of relief. At last, he had begun to bridge the gap that was standing between them now, he thought in relief.   
  
He could have given him his voice earlier, he berated himself slightly when he left his son's mind to its well-earned sleep. The child hadn't been defiant for months now, but, he conceded, he had grown so used to talking with him through the Force, feeling his presence instead of just being aware of it... that he had completely forgotten about his being mute because of him.   
  
However, his son had unknowingly reminded him of that tonight; when he had seen his eyes shine in eagerness at his new duty, he had seen him mouth a 'wow!'.   
  
That first accident had opened his eyes, but when he had praised the child and had seen him silently bow in humility, he had made up his mind.   
  
Somehow, he now felt better with himself for giving him back his voice. Even though the child wouldn't talk to him unless talked to, it felt to him as if it were a major improvement in their current situation.   
  
He would have to think of another way to give something back to the child, he promised himself as he disappeared in his rooms for the night.   
  
  
  
  
The next morning, Vader made a point to 'eavesdrop' again on his son, this time to witness his first access to his computer.   
  
The child stood alone in his office, not using his chair for fear of being disciplined if he touched it, then he began his cleaning procedures.   
  
Vader smiled as he felt the remnants of his eagerness; the child had actually looked forward to begin the day today just to get to this part of his assignments.   
  
At first, finding the files proved to be hard for the boy, but as the dark lord had surmised, his clever son discovered by himself that the Force could be useful in this case too. Luke used his frustration at his poor speed to boost his senses...   
  
And every day that followed, he tried to improve his speed.   
  
  
  
  
******   
  
  
  
  
  
Lord Vader was pleased with his son's progress. Not only was the child training   
Diligently now, but he was also clever enough to learn quickly what he could earn for himself if he behaved.  
  
He himself had made it a point to give him a privilege or two every two or three   
days while trying to dose the amount of work that he gave to the boy so   
as to not overwork him, just push him against his limits.   
  
However, he never revealed any of those details to his master.  
  
  
  
  
  
"...and that was the last survivor of this group of Jedi, Master," the dark lord finished his report about his now completed mission regarding a group of renegade Jedi Knights on the run.  
  
Those three cursed Jedis wouldn't run anywhere anymore.  
  
"Most excellent, Lord Vader," the Emperor snickered in glee. "They seem to be   
running out of strategies to elude you, my friend."  
  
"They are," he nodded coolly. "They know that it is useless to resist the   
destruction of the Jedi Order; it is already doomed."  
  
"Yes," the ruler agreed, then seemed to grow more serious once again. "Speaking   
of Jedis, how is your young slave doing with his training?" the other inquired surly.  
  
Vader felt his blood cool considerably at such mention of his son; his warning   
senses instantly went off, informing him that this report on his son wouldn't be trivial like the other ones had been in the past.  
  
"He is still behaving and has even convinced himself to serve me as best as he   
can, with and without the Force," he answered truthfully, as coolly as he could   
manage despite his growing care for his son.  
  
He 'knew' that he couldn't betray that feeling to the Emperor without losing   
Luke. The child wasn't supposed to influence him in any way... although the boy did influence him whether he was aware of it or not.  
  
"I have been feeling spikes of Light in the Force for weeks now," the Emperor   
commented, his voice dripping with disgust, "and they weren't there before your slave improved his control over his abilities."  
  
"The child is innocent, Master," Vader tried to soothe him  
  
"And as thus, easy to bend," the other retorted coldly. "Young Jade is already   
steeped in the Dark Side, no matter how little she can touch it," he finished   
with a light sneer of frustration.   
  
Vader equally sighed inwardly in annoyance. Ever since he had reported the   
capture of Luke, the Emperor had been comparing his results to those of the Jade   
girl whom the other had found thanks to his meditations. Whether by coincidence or not, he and the Emperor had found 'their' children barely a month after the   
other.   
  
Unbeknown to Vader, his master had meant to train the child as a dark Jedi... but, months later, the girl hadn't proven to be strong enough for his   
project and had instead been kept alive for an assassin project. By then   
however, Luke had finally learnt to behave and had begun to develop his full   
potential... which now warranted him the Emperor's most wary attention since he   
constantly felt the child's Light nature.  
  
"My son cannot be compared to Mara Jade, Master," he finally felt calm enough to   
answer. "Whereas her training is about using her feelings to enhance her   
powers, I had to crush the boy's feelings in order to teach him proper behavior.   
As thus, he might come off as 'light', but his fear keeps him in check. He is a   
future Sith apprentice."  
  
"Only if 'I' say so, Lord Vader, always remember that," the Emperor reminded him   
sternly. "However, a little more fear may help him to learn properly," the   
ruler commented thoughtfully, obviously reluctant to dismiss Luke's power this   
fast.  
  
Vader felt himself wince at that. He 'couldn't' frighten the child anymore than   
he already was. It would doom their relationship forever.  
  
"I will make sure that he doesn't become corrupted by the Light, Master," he   
reassured him although he didn't mention how he would achieve it.  
  
The only thing he knew for sure was that he would not hurt nor frighten the boy to do so.  
  
"Make sure you do, Lord Vader. If the spikes keep growing in strength, I will   
be most displeased," he finished warningly--- then was gone without any more   
ceremonies.  
  
Vader bowed nonetheless, then slowly straightened and shivered slightly at his   
master's words.  
  
If he didn't begin to make Luke use the Dark Side, the Emperor would kill him;   
he himself knew what kind of potential his son had, what it would mean if he   
were to grow as a Jedi--- But it would never happen, he promised himself. His   
son would survive the Emperor's suspicions and grow in age and power until he   
would be worthy to serve him and claim what was rightfully his.  
  
To rule the galaxy with them.  
  
However, he conceded as he climbed in his meditation room, he couldn't tell the   
boy to either be angry at him, hate him, nor resent his situation. He sat down   
in his chair, then let out a weary sigh. As for fear, if he were to 'assail' his son in any way, it would undo everything he had managed to accomplish so far.   
  
No, he reflected, slowly turning his chair forward, then he activated a surveillance record of the day, he wouldn't risk the actual status of his son's behavior, even for something as important as his use of the Force or his survival.  
  
On a side screen, an image appeared; he saw his silent boy, hard at work on the deck, polishing it until it shone under the light.  
  
As he had been ordered to do.   
  
Vader carefully studied him, noting how he was focused on his task, not allowing   
himself to react to what he was obviously thinking. He was in perfect   
control,... perhaps a little too much, he admitted reluctantly.   
  
So if he couldn't tell him to be frustrated, he reflected seriously while he   
continued to watch other footages of the day, how could he incite him to   
use his aggressive feelings to fuel his powers?.. He couldn't hurt him nor   
frighten him anymore than he already was, although he was very slowly gaining on that aspect of their relationship. He couldn't tell him about that either; the child was still too scared of him. He hadn't begun to see past his mask to recognize him for the father he was slowly trying to be. Telling him about the Jedi and what they had done to him was also out of question since it would only enhance 'his' image of monster. The child didn't need that.   
  
So what could he do?.. he wondered even as he brought back to mind the words of his master to force himself to come up with a good plan. How could he influence the boy without his being awa--- then it came to him.  
  
He could plant a compulsion, if a subtle one, to make the boy tap in his   
feelings when he wanted to use the Force. That way, the child wouldn't be aware   
of his part in the decision, and since he himself wouldn't intervene, the boy   
wouldn't try to stop himself. And most important, he thought even as he stood   
to his feet, the Emperor wouldn't feel threatened by his son anymore.  
  
Having made up his mind, he headed for the boy's cell.  
  
  
  
  
  
He had almost reached his destination when a mental scream of anguish suddenly   
invaded his senses; the child had instinctively reached out for help... and had   
contacted him since he was the only other mind that he had learnt to locate.   
  
The dark lord instantly understood that the child was having a very bad nightmare from which he couldn't wake up... reliving the past yet again; he hurried his pace, then entered the cell.   
  
At his feet, the boy was writhing around on his cot, as if trying to escape   
something; his single blanket was tangled around his legs. The sight of his son   
in subconscious torment cut straight to his heart, gripping it hard with sorrow   
and guilt.   
  
Like every other night that it had happened.  
  
Having enough to see his son caught in traumatic dreams, Vader forgot about his   
original purpose for checking on his son, even forgot about his actual status of   
dark lord of the Sith, and knelt by him before gently taking him in his arms to   
cradle him on his lap. Luke continued to fight sleepily against something or   
someone.   
  
"Sshh, little one, you're safe now," Vader cooed as gently as he could, then   
reached out and mentally stroked his son's mind with all the reassurance and   
warmth that he could conjure up.   
  
The fight of the still-asleep boy gradually lessened until he cuddled closer to   
the dark lord's chest. Vader continued to reassure him even though the boy   
couldn't really hear him since he was kept asleep.   
  
"No one will take you away again, Luke," he gently promised him. "I will not   
let anyone hurt you again, not even me," he added as a self-reminder of his   
important, unfortunate part in his son's subconscious torment.  
  
He continued to delicately stroke his mind even as he stroked his blond hair.   
It was the first time that he dared hold his son in his arms, as if he had   
feared some kind of negative effect from such an action; he could now understand   
how foolish a thought it had been and was even glad to have done so tonight.  
  
He felt content with his son in his embrace. Now, more than ever, he was aware   
that the child meant even more to him than the power that he held in the   
galaxy.  
  
He was his son, his unique, irreplaceable child and tonight, the strong,   
courageous boy had needed a father, and that was who he was, for real this   
time.   
  
While he continued to rock him, helping him fall into a good, dreamless sleep,   
he shyly tried to imagine what his life would've been like if he had had his son   
with him from the beginning. The child was still small enough to be held like   
a baby, but he was also much older than a baby. Yet, he was dwarfed by his own   
large hands and strong bulk. Strangely, that made him even more protective   
toward his son.   
  
How he wanted to tell him the truth, he thought warmly, especially now that Luke   
had learnt his place, but if he wanted to protect him from harm, he had to wait   
for a while longer. Luke didn't see him as a human being yet; to him he was still his cruel master, even if he had mellowed a bit lately, the young, confused mind silently thought at him.   
  
And he himself had to intervene to reassure the Emperor, his cooler self   
reminded him.   
  
Oh, yes, he thought more glumly, he had forgotten.  
  
Almost reluctantly, he caressed his son's mind one more time, then gently,   
almost hesitantly, probed him until he found the center of his motivations.   
There, he planted a light yet unavoidable compulsion to use his feelings as a   
focus for the Force, then he withdrew from the child's mind, but not before   
taking advantage of his being there to catch sight of a few of his memories.   
  
Even though he didn't care about the boy's guardians or the Jedi lies, he was   
growing more and more interested in the boy's past life.  
  
All too soon, he was back in his own senses.  
  
Sighing, he caressed Luke's hair one last time, then set him back on the cot and   
wrapped his new, warm blanket snuggly around him.   
  
*Sweet dreams now, my son,* he sent into his subconscious.  
  
*Sweet dreams, Father,* his subconscious answered sleepily.   
  
Vader knew that the boy would wake up the next morning, thinking that he had   
again dreamed about his father.   
  
It had happened quite frequently lately, he barely smirked to himself.  
  
And for one of the rare time in a long while, his smirk wasn't cold nor mean; it   
was in pride of his care for his son.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Five other months passed by during which Luke grew both physically and   
  
spiritually... and also begun to grow out of his clothes, allowing his father to   
find out another way to restore part of his son's dignity.   
  
Since it coincided with a request from the Emperor to return to Coruscant within   
the next month, he decided that from now on, he would take Luke with himself   
wherever he went. That way, he reflected seriously, he would prepare him even   
better for his first visit home... and his presentation to the Emperor who had   
stopped being wary about the child yet still kept a very close eye on his   
different uses of the Force.  
  
Up to now, Luke had been 'his' servant, having to deal with him only, but it   
was now time to introduce him to what would someday be his world as well as show   
him how to remain a good servant... but to the Emperor this time. The trick, he   
conceded, would be to do so without breaking the truth too early to his still   
uncomfortable son.  
  
Perhaps life on Coruscant would help them, but, he reflected with a sneer, he greatly doubted it. Coruscant's lifestyle of courting and gossiping wouldn't bring much except problems into their already complicated lives, but, he shrugged, no one knew what the Force had in store for them.  
  
And, he conceded to himself, he was growing tired of the Executor's confinement   
due to the touchy training of his son. Not that he resented his time spent aboard the Executor, he then amended, and especially his time with his son, but he was not sorry to look forward to a change of routine. However, had it happened any earlier, his feelings might be different. Up to not so long ago, Luke wouldn't have been ready to meet his future.  
  
Besides, he shrugged, his time spent aboard the ship had allowed him to know his son better--- and to consider how he himself would proceed to save the boy's life once and for all despite his enduring goodness of heart.   
  
He knew all too well what the Emperor would say about it.   
  
Well, he decided as he sent a request to a sewer droid, he would convince him   
that the child's goodness was not dangerous at all. Besides, the boy already kept it in very good check under his growing powers, which were groomed by the Dark Side of the Force.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
In the shower, Luke stood under the warm curtain of water and stretched his sore muscles, duplicating the techniques that he had read about as to how to alleviate his cramps after his most physically oriented day of the week.   
  
He also knew that the pain truly meant that he was building muscle mass.   
He conceded that it made the ache more bearable. However, he was glad that his   
master had given him his evening.   
  
He was tired... and he wanted to read more of the book about physical exercises   
that he had stumbled on this week.   
  
He stopped the shower, pulled his towel inside the cubicle and dried himself,   
then he wrapped it around his small waist and carefully stepped out of the   
slippery stall----   
  
He started when he saw unknown clothes where he had left his clothes, barely catching his balance before he had fallen on his backside as in a repeat of his first shower aboard the ship.   
  
Once he was stable again, he set foot out of the cubicle and studied the new clothes. Uncertain, he stepped closer, picked an article up and checked it up, then the next piece of clothing. They were all black as night, but less rough than his other clothes had been, and they came with a set of underwear--- and even amenities likes socks and shoes, he gaped is shock.   
  
He hadn't wore anything similar in more than a year, he reflected even as he wiggled his bare toes as if in nervousness. Gingerly, he put on the new clothes, left the shoes alone for the moment, then looked at himself in the full-length mirror.   
  
He instantly noticed that he looked older than he actually was, and that his muscled arms and strong shoulders were now obvious thanks to his short sleeves and body-tight shirt and pants. He also noticed that unlike his previous clothes, these new ones seemed to be tailored to his size. Finally, their color reminded him of his master...   
  
Identifying him as his servant, he realized.  
  
He now knew that not many people wore completely black clothes, except his master and a few, very rare individuals. And as his master's personal slave, it was normal to wear black clothes like him, he understood, feeling a mix of pride and worry at the implication of the color.   
  
Still, it made much sense. And now, the shoes, he thought once he turned away from his new, rather good-looking reflection. Could he still wear those?, he wondered worriedly. They were there, so he knew that he had no choice but to wear them with the rest of his clothes, but... He had been barefoot for quite a while now, he reflected; in fact, he had grown so used to being barefoot that he barely flinched anymore at the sensation of the cold deck under him.   
  
However, he thought in resignation, he would do what his master implicitly ordered him to do. He gingerly put the shoes on.  
  
While he wasn't extremely comfortable, he conceded that he had forgotten what it   
felt like not to have his feet rest on a cold floor; it was a very welcome feeling of warmth.   
  
He checked around himself to see if he had overseen something about his new   
clothes, then cleaned up after himself and went where he knew that his master was working.   
  
  
******  
  
  
As he felt the presence of his son come nearer, Vader looked up from his planning. He smiled under his helmet when he saw him step through the door.   
In time, his son would make a very handsome young man and a powerful Jedi, he   
reflected proudly. His black clothes seemed to already belong on him.  
  
"Do they fit you?" he asked him once the child was standing at attention.  
  
"Yes, Master. Thank you," he bowed in respect.  
  
Vader turned back to his plan, as if it was of no consequence, but it wasn't.   
Unbeknown to Luke, he had begun to draw him toward his future, to make him proud   
of who he was, even though he didn't know that yet. However, he had given him   
another clue that he was related to him now, that his future was linked to his.   
  
Now, he thought seriously, he would gradually show him what his 'master's' life   
really was about, and who he himself truly was. That way, he calculated that   
the child would slowly begin to know him better, which would, eventually, enable 'him' to demonstrate his care for the boy when the child would be ready.  
  
"You needed new clothes and I wanted you to be presentable when I will take you   
with me," he told him seriously although less coldly than usually.  
  
"With you, Master?" the boy gaped, but recovered fast and fell silent.  
  
"I'm going back to Coruscant for a while; I will need you to serve me during   
conferences and meetings," he informed him.  
  
"As you wish, Master," Luke answered instantly, bowing his small head once   
again.   
  
Even though his son had picked up the perfect pattern of speech of adult   
imperial servants, Vader had to remind himself that his son wasn't even eight   
years old yet. In a few months, the boy would hit the age of eight, but he would still be little more than a child, if a powerful one; he was already more than any other child in this galaxy.   
  
But of course, Luke didn't know about that. He had allowed his son to discover the truth about his being a Jedi, about his powers so that he knew what his future would be like with the Dark Side as its servant. In the meantime his Sith training had taken care to make his mind mature so that he was now thinking as a young teenager instead of a child.   
  
That, he admitted, was a good thing since Luke couldn't afford to think about   
playing or having fun all the time... although he sometimes did: he was 'still'   
a child after all. Still, his future was already waiting for him and Luke was   
now on the right path to fulfill it; all they needed was a permission from the   
Emperor to further the boy's training.  
  
As he refocused on the 'sight' of his son, Vader noticed that the boy was   
studying with great interest the holo display of the upcoming space battle.   
When the time would come, the boy would learn about those, he thought seriously.   
  
"That will be all for now, boy. I think you wanted to study something tonight,"   
he reminded him coolly.  
  
Luke snapped to attention. "Yes, Master. Thank you."  
  
He bowed again, then left with as little noise as he could.  
  
Vader shook his head in amazement. Even though he had never forced this on his   
son, the boy had even learnt to make himself scarce and invisible in his   
environment, proving yet again how clever he was.   
  
In time, he reflected wistfully, even those skills would be most   
useful to him. He could feel it.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
Throughout their month of slow transit toward Coruscant, Vader almost always   
took the boy with him wherever he was aboard the ship. At first, the troops and   
officers were surprised by the presence of a young child aboard the ship, but   
the moment that they studied him, they discovered that he wasn't a danger nor   
that they should pay him any attention.  
  
Luke's identity as a slave was more than obvious to them since he was always   
remaining out of the way, bore a very visible slave mark and number on his arm,   
and that he was serving the dark lord even when the other didn't speak to him.   
  
In short, the child was silent most of the time, then practically acting like a   
ghost when he had to do something... like a very-well tamed slave.  
  
  
  
  
  
Throughout his first two weeks as his master's personal servant, Luke became aware that he liked this new aspect of his slavery.   
  
He was allowed on the bridge of the biggest ship of all time, which in itself   
was extremely exciting, but he now also got to watch the dark lord work as he   
planned attacks, received reports of spies and even oversaw space battles! Even   
though he was aware that the Empire wasn't exactly fair, he couldn't help but be   
thrilled whenever he witnessed ongoing operations.   
  
However, his perception of fairness began to be swayed when his master allowed him to stay inside the communication rooms whenever a spy reported to him; he thus discovered that the Empire wasn't always fighting against regular citizens. They also took care of outlaw elements.   
  
Hence, he began to develop a new, although still wary, respect for his master   
who was devoting his life to the well-being of several populations. He knew him   
well enough to be aware that he was still a bad man, but... he was not 'only'   
that.  
  
More time passed and Luke grew very interested in his master's work; he even   
considered it a privilege to be present to his meetings, no matter that his job   
was to serve drinks to the officers present or pass out datacards or any menial   
thing that his lord needed him to do. He trusted him with his secrets, both good and bad... and it was sometimes very bad. And yet he trusted him, a mere boy, all the same.  
  
All in all, he preferred to find something positive in his situation than   
to be punished because he was displeased, thus displeasing his master in the   
process.   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
That day, Luke was scrubbing the shiny black metal ball of the anteroom when his   
master came back in his quarters.   
  
"Welcome, Master," he said, bowing his head.   
  
"Drop your rag and stand tall," his master clipped.  
  
Through his now acutely developed sensitivity, Luke felt that something was   
bothering his master. He hastened to obey him.   
  
  
  
Vader threw a look at his boy. The child was presentable--- even if he was   
barefoot again. Upon seeing this again, he wondered why his son never wore his   
shoes whenever he was back in their quarters. Not exactly worrying, he   
conceded, but still a little strange. He couldn't possibly like the feeling of   
cold metallic tiles under his bare feet, he thought in puzzlement.  
  
However, he reflected that the Emperor shouldn't bother about this kind of   
detail.   
  
He refocused on the empty area behind his throne, then knelt on the receiving,   
newly polished pod, thus activating his receiver.   
  
  
  
  
Luke didn't know what to expect; he had never witnessed such an action from his   
master. In fact, he admitted, he had no idea of what was the use of the round structure on which his master was now kneeling.  
  
While he remained still and attentive, he spared a gaze at his master's whole   
demeanor; it reminded him of something, he thought dimly. He couldn't place the   
memory, but such a position wasn't unknown to him.  
  
Then, suddenly, a huge hologram of the Emperor appeared in front of them.   
  
Luke couldn't help but flinch and take a step backward in startled fright.   
  
The Emperor?!   
  
He hurried to lower his gaze until his head was completely bowed in obedience   
and deference. In the past, he had witnessed a few communications between the   
ruler and his master, but never this big, and never from this close a point of   
view. In fact, up to now, he had never even heard a conversation, only seen it.  
  
Right now though, he 'knew' that the galactic ruler could see him behind his master.   
  
Thus, even more than ever, he himself was downright shaking in his pants.   
  
"What is thy bidding, Master?" Vader asked the other.  
  
Luke's head perked up at that.   
  
Master? Vader was calling the Emperor like he himself addressed his master?  
  
"You will have to make a slight detour by Alderaan before you come back home,   
Lord Vader," he informed him in a grating voice. "It seems that some pamphlets   
are circulating planet-wide. Find the source and bring it and the offending   
papers to me."  
  
"As you wish, Master," his master answered, bowing his head in the exact gesture   
that he had taught him.  
  
The holo disappeared. His master straightened and stood up. Luke was too   
shocked and confused by what he had just witnessed to react; he didn't dare move just yet.   
  
"Get on with your chores," his master told him.  
  
Luke quickly bowed his head without thinking, then picked up his rag with the Force. However, he couldn't focus on his chore. Turning away from the nearby meditation room, he threw a look over his shoulder at his master. The dark lord was already working on a wall computer, calling up files. Luke knew better than to ask him a question of course, but one such question was burning his lips.   
  
Why had his master made him witness this larger-than-life encounter with the   
Emperor? He had seen how his master had bowed to the Emperor before, but to   
actually hear his words as well as feel his deference... It was something else   
altogether. He had always assumed that his master was a powerful commander in   
the Emperor's army, but now...   
  
Nah, he rebuked himself, he had to be wrong.   
  
Just because his master spoke similar words to his owns to the Emperor didn't   
mean that Lord Vader was a slave himself---  
  
"I told you that I once was a slave, not still am," his master's deep voice suddenly cut acidly, definitely aggressively in his thoughts.   
  
Luke jumped out of his skin at this, immediately turning around to face his upset master; he backed himself against the meditation pod, then hurried to bow his head in regret and apology. "I'm sorry, Master. I didn't mean any disrespect," he told him earnestly, not hiding his fear of having upset him a little too much.  
  
For a moment, the dark lord loomed over him, his anger clearly coming through to the young boy who knew what it might be portent of--- then he suddenly stepped   
away from him, shrinking back to his normal, if still imposing, size.   
  
"Don't think this much, boy. Just do what I told you to do," he commented, his   
voice back to a cooler range.  
  
"Yes, Master," Luke answered in deference, then resumed his scrubbing.   
  
His master watched him for a while longer, then left him alone, entering his inner quarters.   
  
Luke forced himself to not think anymore, then attacked the upper part of the   
ball, thus having no more time for stray thoughts. Using the Force required all   
his focus.  
  
  
  
  
  
In his quarters, Vader paced like a caged animal.   
  
It had been close, it had been waaayyyyy too close once again. The child had   
not meant to insult him with his thought, and he himself had made him witness   
his discussion with the Emperor to allow him to make another parallel between   
the two of them... But he hadn't expected him to understand it backward.  
Instead of beginning to understand where his actual servitude would lead him,   
the boy had seen him as a slave like himself.  
  
How dare he?, he glared at the door that was separating him from the hard-  
working child. How dare he see him as a nobody when he was practically ruling   
the whole galaxy thanks to his work for the Emperor? He was Darth Vader, Dark   
Lord of the Sith, a former slave, yes, but he had won his freedom, and it had   
been 'his' choice to bring peace and justice back in the galaxy... To master the   
unfathomable powers of the Dark Side.  
  
Unlike his son's actual life, he himself 'had' chosen his actual life, and he   
was content by it.   
  
Still fuming slightly at the outrageous thought of his son, he forced himself to   
cool down. The child hadn't mean any harm with this, he reminded himself as he   
re-ran his probe in his mind.  
  
Luke had truly been wondering about him, trying to understand the situation with   
what he knew about it... and had begun to recognize him as a pair, he realized   
as he focused on his son's feelings during the probe.  
  
He had begun to feel something beside fear for him--- but he himself had slapped   
those feelings away from him once again, he understood as the stark white   
features of his horrified son came back to him.  
  
He himself had meant to bridge the gap between them by showing more of the truth   
to his son, but the boy had mistaken it with the lie that was standing between   
them... and they were still as separated as before the communication had taken   
place.  
  
Because of him once again.  
  
Sighing in frustration, he promised himself to really learn to temper that bad   
temper of his... Now he was the one in need of serious taming.  
  
For his son's sake.  
  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
When the ship reached Alderaan, Luke was on the bridge.   
  
His master immediately contacted the surface; a very handsome man, accompanied   
by a little girl sitting on his lap, answered him.  
  
"Lord Vader, it is a pleasure to have you in our system. Won't you come down   
for a visit?" the man purred.  
  
"That won't be necessary, Viceroy Organa, I'm only here to collect the writer of   
the criminal pamphlets, as well as all the told pamphlets," he informed the   
other man.  
  
Luke watched the man as he faked ignorance of the matter. Then, the boy's gaze   
fastened itself on the young girl on his lap. She was dressed in a beautiful   
dress that seemed to be made of shining material, her hair was neatly pinned up   
on her head and she was following the debate with as much interest as he was.   
  
He wondered who she was.   
  
He noticed that she didn't seem afraid of the dark lord.  
  
His master spoke again. "I will come downside in two days, Viceroy. By then,   
I want to be handed all the pieces of poetry, as you call them, as well as the   
writer of this propaganda. If not, I will collect them my way," he warned   
the viceroy.  
  
"I will do my best to save you that effort, my Lord," the other man answered   
with a bow of his head.  
  
"I hope so, for your sake," Vader reminded him coldly before cutting off the   
transmission.   
  
He turned toward his commanders, gave orders--- then surprised Luke by   
contacting him.   
  
*You have a question,* he stated.  
  
Luke noticed that it wasn't a question; his curiosity must be more obvious than   
he had thought. He hoped that he wasn't upsetting his master.  
  
*Yes, Master. Who was the little girl?*  
  
*She is Princess Leia Organa, the viceroy's daughter,* he answered him shortly.  
  
*Thank you, Master,* Luke sent in gratitude even as he let out a mental breath   
of relief. His master wasn't angry.  
  
He then called back to memory an image of the girl.  
  
No wonder that she had looked like a princess, she was one, he thought ruefully.   
No doubt that she didn't have to fear much in her life, his master included. He   
dimly wondered what her life was like compared to his. Was she surrounded by   
servants like himself? Probably, he thought seriously. Perhaps not children,   
but servants all the same.  
  
He remained in his corner until his master asked for the pad that he was holding in his right hand.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
The incident on Alderaan was quickly dealt with. The viceroy had been quite   
cooperative in fact.   
  
Afterward, they resumed their way toward Coruscant.  
  
They arrived a few days later.   
  
  
  
  
  
Luke sat at his master's feet in the shuttle that brought them straight to the   
Imperial Palace, or so Luke found out when they exited the shuttle. He   
couldn't help but gape as he saw the vista that surrounded the landing pad on   
which they were.   
  
Huge buildings glittering under the daylight as if they were made of jewelry,   
lines of traffic everywhere, constantly departing spaceships----  
  
When he dawdled slightly too long to his master's taste, he felt the invisible   
leash appear around his throat, then it pulled him into motion. Luke didn't   
resist and fell in step with his imposing master. The leash disappeared once   
again.  
  
The beauty of the place was overwhelming his farm boy's mind. It was hard   
not to stop every five steps to gape in awe, but he was aware that his master   
hadn't taken him here for sightseeing; he forced himself to follow his striding   
master.   
  
Finally, his master told him to wait for him in the corridor while he himself   
continued on toward the heavily guarded throne room. No less than four guards   
were standing in front of its doors.   
  
Luke, who was relieved to not meet the Emperor today, stood near a wall in the   
grand corridor, looking around himself. Never had he dreamed of such a place.   
Unlike his master's ship, it was full of vibrant colors and beings of all races   
and species. Luke noticed something peculiar about them however: they were all   
rich, and most of the 'free' beings were human. The aliens, he slowly noticed,   
were mostly slaves like himself.   
  
He was the only human slave, he also noted.   
  
He continued his discreet observations as he waited for his master.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
In the throne room, the Emperor studied the image of the young boy who was   
waiting in the corridor.   
  
"I see that you tamed his rebellious side, my friend," he observed seriously.  
  
"Yes, Master," Vader nodded while he tried to not betray his worry about this   
report with the Emperor.   
  
He was all too aware that Luke's life was once again at stake; more than ever,   
he didn't want to lose the child.  
  
His child.  
  
"However," the other began warily, "I still sense Light in him. He is more a   
'Jedi'-child than a Sith apprentice," he commented with undisguised disgust.  
  
Vader pressed his lips together in worry; he couldn't hide the truth from the   
Emperor, yet he 'knew' how damageable it could be for his son. "Yes, I know, Master," he admitted even as he tried to think of a way to save his son. "He is good-hearted, but he uses only the Dark Side of the Force," he finally explained seriously. "He doesn't use the Lightside anymore."  
  
"So I felt," the other grated out even as he continued to study the young boy   
who was studying his new surroundings while not attracting unwanted reactions   
from his superiors. "How strong is he?"  
  
Vader was surprised by this question since the Emperor could undoubtedly feel   
Luke's potential by simply probing the child; he answered him nonetheless. "He is very strong, Master," he commented truthfully. "He will be a most powerful ally if we continue his training."  
  
"But he will also represent a constant potential for danger if he were to turn   
against us," the Emperor commented coldly.   
  
"This will not happen, Master," Vader hurried to reassure the old ruler. "He   
has learnt his place; whether he serves me or you, he will be faithful to your   
wishes. He has evolved from slave to servant throughout the past months," he   
finished seriously.  
  
"Yet he still relishes freedom instead of his service to you," the ruler   
remarked shrewdly.  
  
Vader could only nod at that. "He is not ready for more," he admitted   
reluctantly. "That is why I haven't told him the truth about us yet."  
  
"And when are you planning to tell him?"  
  
"I do not want to rush things and alienate him to your service, Master," the   
dark lord explained truthfully. "In time, I know that he will forget about his   
former life and focus on the present and the future. When that day will happen,   
I will tell him."  
  
"And in the meantime you wish to continue his training," Palpatine commented   
coldly.  
  
"Yes, Master," he bowed his head in agreement.  
  
The Emperor fell silent at that, undoubtedly pondering his decision. Vader hoped that he had managed to convince him that Luke was worth keeping alive for further training.  
  
Yes, he was aware that boy's nature wasn't affected in the least by his use of   
the Dark Side, but given Luke's blind obedience to everything he was told to do,   
he surmised that it made him less of a Jedi danger.  
  
As he gazed at the scowling Emperor though, he feared that the other wasn't seeing it this way.   
  
He made a note to himself to try and teach his son to not care and like as much   
as he did, but, he conceded, his training wasn't a willing one as far as the   
Dark Side went. He used it, but his heart wasn't affected by it in any way.   
In a way though, he admitted to himself that he preferred it that way since it   
allowed him to see him smile then and again; he wasn't the unhappy child that he   
had been when they had first met. He himself was very content by this turn of   
events...  
  
Now it remained to be seen if the Emperor would allow him to continue to bridge   
the gap between himself and his son, future servant of the Empire.  
  
  
  
  
Palpatine threw a wary glare at his best servant, then refocused on the   
incredibly tempting offer who was standing on the screen in front of him.  
  
The child was indeed more powerful than any Jedi he had ever dealt with, even   
more powerful than his father. He could also feel that despite his resistant   
good nature, his soul was indeed beginning to be enshrouded by the darkness of   
true power.   
  
However, the boy also represented a much unexpected problem: Vader 'cared' about   
the boy. It had taken him very intense measures to make this despising feeling   
disappear from the ex-Jedi's heart, yet that child of his had brought it back   
with his mere presence in the man's life.  
  
Was Vader dangerous for him now? Should he kill him and keep the child for   
himself? Or could he trust Vader to remain faithful to him?  
  
He openly probed his servant; Vader allowed him free access anywhere he wished,   
thus proving his unwavering devotion to him.   
  
Vader was still his, he smiled thinly, and he was now more than willing to bring   
his son into his service. He himself would be foolish to turn down such a gift.   
  
Especially since the appearance of the very powerful child in his ranks allowed   
him to envision plans which had been impossible to realize up to now, but they   
would have to wait, he reflected seriously.  
  
The child wasn't ready to spy for him yet, but as Vader had said, in time, and   
he would give him that time.  
  
As for the child's Light nature, he resolved to make sure that it never affected   
his use of the Force by completely prohibiting him from using the Lightside of   
the Force. He surmised that it would suffice for the moment.  
  
"Very well, Lord Vader," he finally answered his silent servant. "You may   
continue to train him toward completion of the basic skills," he specified   
coldly, implicitly warning his servant to not push the child further than that   
level.  
  
For the moment.  
  
"Thank you, Master," Vader answered gratefully, then bowed deep in respect and   
left him to return to his slave.   
  
******  
  
To be continued in part 3: Vader's Servant  
  
Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)   
(Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff won't even be read.) 


	3. Part 3: Vader's Servant edited

Luke Vader: From Slave to Dark Lord of the Sith  
Part 3: Vader's servant  
SJ 26-04-00/10-00 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
______________________  
Disclaimers: None of this belong to me; everything in the Star Wars Universe   
belongs to George Lucas.   
See my home page for more details.   
Http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
  
_____________________  
  
  
Even though Vader was never uncomfortable with his master, only subservient, he   
was glad to leave his presence.  
  
Especially now that he had agreed to let Luke live; he didn't want to waste a   
single second that he was granted with his son; he would make them worthwhile,   
proving to the wary ruler that his son was better alive than dead.  
  
While he would continue to lessen the distance between them, he would also make   
sure that his boy's good nature would never put him on the dangerous end of the   
Emperor's attentions.  
  
Instead, he would help him bring out his abilities and powers which would ensure   
his survival in the Emperor's ranks.  
  
His son 'would' be a servant of the Emperor, he determined even as he strode   
past the said boy. The child fell in step behind him and walked, his head bowed   
like the good servant he was.  
  
In time, he promised himself, he would earn the right to walk straight and tall,   
but first, he reflected, they had some serious work to do.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Luke followed his master out of the splendor of the Imperial Palace... and into   
the dark splendor of his own palace.   
  
The first thing that the child noticed was the change of colors. Whereas the   
Imperial palace had been celestial white with colorful, artistic articles of   
decoration, Vader's palace was dark with black walls, floors, and dark wooden   
furniture. However, the works of art where mind-enrapturing.  
  
He tried to not let himself be distracted by them as followed his master;   
instead, he tried to remember all the rooms the adult indicated to him while   
they walked down the corridors. It was much bigger than aboard the Executor, he   
reflected seriously.   
  
His quarters were also bigger, he gaped slightly in surprise. He had been so   
used to his closet that he hadn't expected anything different here. However,   
instead of a cot, he had a bunk, and he even had a small desk and a private   
'fresher.   
  
However, what attracted his attention were the datadisks which had been piled up   
on the corner of the desk. He wanted to check them out right now, aware that   
they were probably the Jedi/pilot data that his master had told him he would   
find for him, but his master wanted otherwise at the moment.   
Luke obediently followed him.   
  
  
  
  
He brought him into a computer room at the end of the last floor, keyed in some   
files, then turned sideways.   
  
"Take a look at those individuals, boy," he told him seriously.  
Luke stepped closer and studied the portraits that were being shown on the large   
screen. Women, men, aliens.  
  
"Look at them carefully. They are not to be trusted," his master informed him.   
"If you ever have to escort them anywhere in the palace, never let your guard   
down while in their presence. If you detect anything suspicious from them, warn   
me immediately. Do you understand?" he asked him.  
  
"Yes, Master," Luke nodded although he was surprised yet again by his master.  
Escort his visitors?? Him? A child?  
  
The dark lord pointed to a blond woman. "This one isn't human. It's a droid;   
probe it the right way," he advised him.  
  
"I understand, Master." Luke reassured him.  
  
Yes, he reflected seriously, he had just understood that Vader had made him his   
majordomo, giving him permission to practice his probing skills on his visitors.   
Vader turned toward him---- then crouched in front of him, something which he   
had never done before, well, almost never.   
  
Luke held still in worry, his eyes locked on his master. He thus tracked his   
hand as it moved closer to his face, then barely stroked his cheek with his   
fingertips; now that had never happened before, he thought in utter shock.  
He stood stock-still, unable to shift even one muscle.  
  
"You really are clever, boy," his master observed in a strangely warmer voice   
than usual. "Don't hesitate to use your intelligence to serve me better," he   
told him in that same fashion. "You will not regret it."  
  
Luke jerkily nodded, his voice caught in his throat now.   
  
"Err... Thank you, Master," he finally managed.  
  
Vader remained crouched for a few more seconds, making Luke even more uneasy,   
then he stood up once again, back to his normal, cool self.   
  
"Tour the palace now. Make yourself familiar with all its rooms," he instructed   
him.  
  
"Yes, Master." he bowed, then left him.  
  
  
  
  
Vader watched his son leave, a bitter-sweet feeling lingering in his heart.  
He had been forward with the child this time, openly showing his care for him;   
the child had answered by almost fainting thanks to his shock.  
  
They had a long way to go, he sighed to himself even as he turned back toward   
his computer. He couldn't even foresee a delay when his masquerade would be   
over. However, he tried to comfort his newly sensitive self, the more time it   
took, the more time he had to initiate Luke to the rest of the abilities that he   
would need to make the transition from his slave to the Emperor's servant.  
He had already found a way to make him improve his probing skills, his piloting   
skills were growing by leaps and bounds, and his levitation and mind-control   
abilities were perfectly honed already.  
  
He was almost done with the basic training... for a Sith, but not for an   
imperial servant, he reflected even as he called up the training program of   
agents.  
  
He thus thought of another exercise to add to his son's schedule. It wouldn't   
really be a duty, he reflected, but his son was aware that he was training him   
more than making him work.  
  
He would accept the new challenge... and would thus develop his self-defense   
skills.  
  
  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, six floors lower, Luke studied his master's home.  
  
He couldn't help but wonder about what had happened in the computer room though.   
His master had never, ever shown him any sign of care before. Sure he had   
taught him many things, had given him privileges he had only dreamed of, but he   
had also been cruel with him, and he had never hesitated to strike fear in his   
young heart if he had deemed it necessary. His master had also never brought   
himself to his level, except if he wanted to have a better view of something and   
didn't want to hurt his arms or strangle him. He had even less ever touched him   
without causing him any pain of any kind.  
  
He honestly couldn't comprehend what had gone through the dark lord's mind a   
moment before.   
  
He refocused on his self-guided visit. He noticed that not many beings   
inhabited the lord's castle. He was mostly surrounded by droids. The few   
beings he had seen here and there were mostly there for maintenance purposes.   
Hours later, he knew that he was the sole living servant in the castle.  
  
He returned to his master's side.   
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
Even though Luke was on Coruscant, his routine didn't change much. He served   
his master and his guests when he had to, he continued to work on his muscles   
since he had many more places to clean up now, but there were also a few   
changes. The most important one was that since he now knew his lord's schedule,   
he was now semi-autonomous to organize his days. Considering that he knew when   
he was supposed to welcome a guest, either from the lower levels or from the   
landing platforms, it was up to him to organize the rest of his day so that his   
duty was complete when he went to bed.  
  
New Force-exercises were also part of his routine now. First of all, whenever   
he led a guest to his master's location, had to probe them in order to inform   
his master of their intentions 'before' they reached him. Second, his exercises   
with remotes now involved them shooting stinging bolts at him, forcing him to   
improve his danger-sensing skills, not just his focus. Finally, he also had to   
develop new physical skills by facing a fighting droid every day. His goal with   
this task was to deactivate the droid and put it away despite their fights'   
increasing levels of difficulty. Thus, after a few, difficult first days, he   
managed to figure out how to use Force to guide his body in self-defense   
movements.  
  
Since he had to do the remote and droid exercises every day, his dodging and   
fighting skills improved quite rapidly.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
  
Nearly a month and a half later, Luke rolled away from the droid's arm--- then   
kicked him in its middle section with all his strength to make it tumble on its   
back. As expected, the machine fell heavily on the deck. The young boy hurried   
to roll to its side and turned it off via the switch that was on its neck. The   
droid powered down, at last.   
  
Groaning in tiredness, Luke sat back and rubbed his aching muscles. It had been   
tougher today. He had noticed that it had been becoming easy for a while, but   
not anymore. Oh well, he mentally shrugged, he was improving once again.   
Pushing himself to his feet, he straightened and stretched a little, then   
reached out with the Force and pulled the droid to its feet before he levitated   
it all the way to its normal place.   
  
There, done.   
  
Young Luke checked the chrono on the wall. He had just enough time to change   
back in his formal clothes and clean up a bit before receiving his master's next   
guest.   
  
After that, he would have to take care of the remotes that his master had left   
activated in an other training room.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
It took Luke approximately ten minutes to make himself presentable; he finally   
headed for the higher landing pad and not a minute too soon.   
  
He had barely reached his waiting station that the expected couch arrived.   
  
A tall, green-skinned alien stepped out of it and waited patiently. Even   
without reaching out, Luke could feel that this visitor wouldn't be to his   
master's liking. There was something downright filthy about him. However, his   
orders were to escort him, so escort him, he shall.  
  
The young boy walked forward and bowed in welcome. "Welcome, Prince Xizor," he   
bid the other. "My master, Lord Vader, is awaiting you. If you'll follow me."  
  
He turned around and walked toward the inside of the building. The alien   
followed but it didn't escape Luke's notice that he was displeased by something.   
  
'A child!?' he heard him think when he probed him. 'What kind of game is Vader   
playing with me now? This can't be serious. I've heard about the boy, but   
there has to be something else behind this. Vader has never had slaves before,'   
the alien finished with a touch of disgust directed at his master.  
  
Luke heard and felt it all--- and strove to remain impassive, in control. Once   
he felt cool-headed once again, he contacted his master. Vader told him to stay   
around for this guest.   
  
  
  
  
  
Two minutes later, he keyed open the door of the room where his master was, then   
invited the Dark Prince to enter. He followed him inside.   
  
He almost instantly discovered that Prince Xizor was a master deceiver.   
  
"It is a pleasure to see you again, Lord Vader," the alien purred suavely as if   
he held the other in great respect. "It was extremely nice of you to send your   
youngest servant to welcome me."  
  
"We may dispense with pleasantries, Prince Xizor," Vader retorted curtly, not   
turning away from the window behind his desk to meet with his visitor. "I know   
what you really think about the boy."  
  
Luke felt the Falleen's composure falter slightly yet he had yet to detect any   
sign of anger on his cool features.   
  
"But this is not why I requested your presence here," Vader continued coldly.   
"I have discovered that one of your groups of traders is serving itself right   
off the imperial stocks," he finished, turning around to 'glare' at the tall   
alien.  
  
"What?.., I didn't know about that, my Lord," Xizor lied.  
  
While Luke noticed his own, reflexive lack of proper thought toward the Falleen   
creature, he became aware that his master was gazing unwaveringly at the alien.  
If he didn't know better, he thought in bemusement, he would swear that his   
master was smirking in amusement.   
  
"Just as I thought," his master finally nodded, "Now that you know though, I   
suggest that you correct the situation before I have to take drastic measures   
concerning them," he warned seriously. "Remember that if you want to retain   
your deal with the Empire, you'll have to keep your end of it, on all aspects,"   
he added more darkly.  
  
"I shall take a look at it immediately, my Lord," Xizor reassured him earnestly   
even as he bowed his head in respect.   
  
Vader barely acknowledged him, then dismissed him with a wave of his hand before   
returning to his study of the captivating Coruscant landscape; Luke prepared   
himself for his escort duty. Xizor bowed again... and had turned around to   
follow him when Lord Vader spoke up once again.  
  
"By the way," his master commented, drawing once again the attention of the   
angry alien while he turned back toward them, "I didn't know that you kept such   
a close eye on me, Prince Xizor," he almost sneered.  
  
As he saw the alien turn back toward Vader, Luke decided that the Falleen was   
more than a master deceiver; he was in perfect control of himself. None of his   
previous, hateful thoughts were showing on his features.  
  
"I'm afraid I don't understand, my Lord," the Falleen commented, pretending to   
be confused.  
  
"How else would you know about my slavery habits?" the dark lord inquired   
seriously.  
  
"I---" the other stuttered, caught off-guard this time at having his own   
thoughts shoved back at him.  
  
Lord Vader stepped forward this time. "You should mind your own business and   
not start rumors on my account, Prince Xizor," he warned him with just the   
slightest hint of a serious threat in his voice. "That would be better for you   
and your business."  
  
Luke could feel the boiling anger in the dark prince, even his murderous   
intentions, but it, like the rest, didn't show on his features.   
  
He, for his part, was currently growing hateful toward the alien for   
entertaining such thought about his master, but he forced himself to remain   
unresponsive. He was only his master's slave; it wasn't his place to think for   
him.  
  
"Accept my apologies if I have miffed you, Lord Vader," the alien finally bowed   
in deference.  
  
"Apologies accepted," his master retorted as if it were inconsequential. "You   
may leave now," he finished, then Luke caught his master's barest glance in his   
direction. He snapped to attention. *Take him back to his couch without any   
detour,* he instructed him coolly.  
  
Luke respectfully bowed his head, then prepared to leave once again.  
  
Meanwhile, the alien bowed once again, offered another menial retort, then   
followed Luke out of the room.   
  
  
  
  
  
As the young boy watched the personal ship leave the area of the castle, he   
reflected that his master was courageous to dare turn his back, let alone openly   
threaten a being such as the Falleen.   
  
He now knew how dangerous the dark prince was.  
  
He turned around---and started when he saw that his master was standing a few   
feet away from him, watching him he realized even as he bowed his head in   
welcome.   
  
"It is not courage to face cowards like him," the dark lord told him coolly.   
"It is merely my duty."  
  
"He wants to kill you, Master," Luke informed him, keeping his head bowed to   
apologize for his earlier misjudgment, perhaps even an unwilling insult if his   
master was not in a good mood.   
  
"I know," Vader agreed without any sign of usual anger. "but so do I...   
However, the Emperor likes to have him around his court; I cannot get rid of   
this snake," the dark Lord explained, annoyance creeping into his voice and   
senses.  
  
Aware, and relieved, that his master wasn't angry at him, Luke dared look back   
up at his master--- who walked closer to rest his hand on his shoulder.   
  
He couldn't help but still completely in surprise. He still wasn't used to his   
master's caring touch.  
  
"You were perfect in his presence, boy," his master praised him. "If he ever   
sends an assassin, he won't even think that you might detect him before he   
reaches me," he informed him seriously.  
  
Luke, who had tensed when the dark lord had touched him, could now only gape   
up at his mask as the other crouched to be at eye level with him. "An assassin?   
Stop him?" he asked in disbelief.  
  
"I saw you train with the droid today," his master commented in the strangely   
warm voice that he seemed to use only with him. "You are getting very good in   
fighting techniques, and you can sense deceit when it is present," he continued,   
this time with the lightest touch of pride in his voice. "From now on, boy, you   
will think of yourself as my bodyguard when you escort guests inside," he   
instructed him.  
  
"Master?.." Luke gaped in bemusement. He couldn't believe the words he had just   
heard. Him? A bodyguard? But he was barely eight years old!  
  
"A servant merely takes people from one place to another, but a bodyguard serves   
and protect his master," Vader explained warmly. "Am I wrong when I say that   
you would've attacked Xizor if he had moved on me?" he queried in his still   
strangely gentle voice.  
  
Luke avoided his eyes, ashamed for entertaining such thoughts of disobedience.   
"No, Master, but I'm sorry," he hurried to add.  
  
Vader brought his large hand to the boy's face, eliciting another flinch even as   
he gently made him face him once again. "There is nothing to be sorry about,   
child," he reassured him. "You controlled yourself, yet remained open for any   
danger. This is exactly what I want you to do. Do you think you can do it?" he   
queried more seriously.  
  
Luke, who had kept his eyes down despite his master's encouragement to look at   
him, now courageously met his gaze. "Yes, Master. I will do it," he assured   
the adult.  
  
"Good. You can forget about the remotes for today," his master commented next.   
"I give you the rest of your day."  
  
Luke's face lit in a smile. "Thank you, Master."  
  
The dark lord straightened back up and gently nudged him toward the door.   
"Go now, don't waste your free time," he encouraged him.  
  
"I won't, Master," Luke told him earnestly before eagerly running toward the   
door.  
  
  
  
  
As the child ran inside, Vader felt his delight at having the rest of his day.   
  
'Now he could play', he heard him think; it made him smile behind his mask.   
No matter how strong his boy was growing, he still remained a child when free.   
Children would always be children, he realized.  
  
Even when they were on the right path to become powerful darksiders.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
  
The same evening, just before retiring for the night, Lord Vader went into his   
son's room, as he now did every night.   
  
Even though his son wasn't aware of his visits, he himself liked those moments   
of quiet observation; they allowed him to do what he couldn't do when the child   
was awake.   
  
That night, he found the boy asleep at his desk; he surmised that he had   
finished his evening with some reading... about computers, he smiled when he   
caught sight of the still turned-on pad. Gently, he bent closer to the boy and   
picked him up in his arms before he carried him toward his bed. His boy   
reflexively snuggled closer to him.   
  
When he was awake, Luke never did any of this, but the more he spent silent   
moments with him while he was asleep, and the more his subconscious was showing   
signs that he thought of him as a father, or so his snuggling reflexes and   
mumbles told him, he conceded seriously as he sat on the bed, his boy still   
cradled in his arms. As he studied his sleeping features, he admitted that he   
was surprised by the game that his son had chosen once he'd left him for the   
rest of the day.   
  
He had chased the remotes after all.   
  
He had first deactivated the firing of bolts, but then, the child had really   
relished jumping and running after the silver balls; he had even giggled   
whenever he had managed to catch one on the first try. The dark lord shook his   
head in amusement as he realized that his son had turned his chore into a game.   
  
'Children', he smiled to himself, then grew more serious at the memory of the   
rest of his son's permission. Once he had grown tired of his game, he had worked   
on his fighting skills, having the possibility to use a book to guide his   
practice, then, later on, he had taken a turn in the flight simulator. Those   
two activities hadn't been games, he reflected seriously; they had been chosen   
by his son to help him improve his abilities.   
  
The boy was beginning to see past his actual service, he smiled to himself; he   
was willingly working hard to prepare himself for the future, whatever that   
future was. The more he was removing the tight bonds around his son's life, he   
then reflected in relief, and the more the child was taking pleasure in his new   
life.   
  
He then admitted to himself that he positively relished every smile that he   
could draw from his up-to-now unhappy child; the more it happened, and the more   
he wanted to tell him the whole truth. But Luke wasn't ready to hear it, he   
reminded himself as the events of the afternoon came back to him.   
  
Even though the boy was beginning to 'like' his new life, he was also still   
uncomfortable whenever he himself tried to shorten the emotional distance that   
was still standing between them. So, he decided that he would slowly continue   
to bridge this distance; when Luke wouldn't be afraid of him anymore, and that   
he would truly accept his new life with the Empire, he would tell him the truth.   
  
In the meantime though, he would try to obtain permission from the Emperor to   
further the boy's training. Luke was now ready for more than the basic skills,   
he reflected as he stroked his son's fair-colored bangs. A haircut might not   
be a bad idea either, he reflected more warmly, then made a note to take care of   
that the next day.  
  
A short while later, he delicately set the child in his bed, then pulled the   
warm blankets over him. Luke turned on his side.   
  
Vader brushed his blond hair one last time with the tip of his fingers, sending   
warm feelings of well-being into his son's mind, aware that they kept the   
nightmares at bay, then remained with his sleeping son for a while longer.  
  
Eventually, he left the room, taking off the light sleeping spell which he'd   
cast on the boy.   
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Months passed during which Luke went back aboard the Executor with his master,   
then back on Coruscant.   
  
Every time that they came back, his master reported to the Emperor, leaving him   
to wait in what he had discovered was called The Grand Corridor.   
  
The more Luke waited there, and the more he began to distinguish the kind of   
beings that were composing the Emperor's court.   
  
There were rich citizens of every places, military officers, courtesans, and   
spies who were trying to pretend to be someone else.   
  
Most of those beings were humans and adults, but... amongst them, there also was   
a child just like himself.   
  
However, unlike him, she wasn't a slave. From the first time he had seen her,   
he had known that she was part of the Emperor's direct entourage. She was   
dressed in nice clothes, her red-gold hair was always shining from cleanness and   
hidden jewels, and unlike any other being except for his master, she was allowed   
alone inside the throne room.   
  
While he had noticed all that though, he had never even entertained the thought   
of asking her questions: he knew all too well that he wasn't allowed to speak   
with anybody but his master.  
  
  
  
  
That day, Luke noticed that the red-gold haired girl was also waiting in the   
Grand Corridor. She was also very close to him this time. Since he knew that a   
slave wasn't supposed to address a free citizen, he fought doubly hard against   
his desire to speak with her, although it was suddenly proving to be quite a   
challenge to him.   
  
Her nearby presence was acting like a magn-----  
  
"What's your name?" a voice suddenly asked him, drawing him out of his internal   
fight.   
  
Luke looked up in surprise and worry---- and gaped when he identified the source   
of the voice: it was the fascinating little girl.   
  
For a moment, both children gazed at each other, silent as if in surprise, then   
Luke hurried to lower his gaze before someone noticed his improper behavior and   
decided to punish him for it. "I'm sorry, my Lady, but I don't have a name   
anymore," he half-whispered respectfully, barely feeling a wince as he heard his   
own words... It had been hard to accept the fact that his tag made him   
nameless, but he had finally learnt to live with this status when not alone.  
  
"You may tell me," she insisted, taking a step closer to him to see his eyes   
again.   
  
"... Luke," he finally whispered even as he dared look up again at her.  
  
"I'm Mara," she told him warmly. "I noticed that you are often seen here.   
Who is your master?"   
  
"Lord Vader, my Lady," he answered with all the respect and decorum that he   
could muster in regards to his master.  
  
"I'm not a Lady, Luke," she commented, then surprised him when she sat beside   
him. "My guardian hasn't given me a title yet; call me Mara."  
  
"Your guardian?" he asked, careful to keep his voice down even as he forced   
himself to not turn toward her to speak with her.  
  
It wasn't proper, he reminded himself; his master wouldn't like this, and what   
Lord Vader didn't like got 'him' into trouble---  
  
"The Emperor," she answered him proudly. "He teaches me so that in time I may   
serve him."  
  
Luke nodded in understanding, then reflexively answered: "My master also teaches   
me, but through my servitude."  
  
"How long have you been with him?" Mara asked, tilting her head in curiosity   
until she could see him again despite her being beside him.  
  
"Almost a year and a half now," he answered simply. Luke noticed the surprised   
face she made. "What?" he queried with uncertainty. He hoped that he hadn't   
upset her; he certainly didn't want to anger the Emperor in any way.  
  
"I've been with the Emperor for the same time," she commented wistfully, her   
eyes moving downward to study the tiling for a moment, then they went back up to   
meet his own. "Do you miss your home?" she asked him seriously.  
  
"I used to," he barely whispered, careful to not look like he was talking to her   
although he was, in fact, not behaving properly. "I learnt to accept my life   
with my master," he added seriously.   
  
"Well, I don't miss them," she told him in a strangely cooler voice. "They   
tried to sell me as a slave. My guardian saved me."  
  
"You're lucky that he came by then," Luke commented instantly. "If I could, I   
would save everybody from being a slave," he told her earnestly yet still   
kept his gaze down on the floor.  
  
Mara might have answered something to this, but the door of the throne room   
opened, attracting her attention.  
  
Luke equally looked up just in time to see his master step through the opening.   
He snapped to attention and hurried to cut his discussion with the girl named   
Mara.   
  
However, she didn't do so, not right away anyway. "It was fun talking with you,   
Luke," she said as she walked toward the door.   
  
It was her turn to go inside.   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
Inside the throne room, Vader was reporting his son's progresses to the Emperor   
when they both felt a slight, Light-born disturbance nearby.  
  
The Emperor instantly activated the screen on the wall behind him, then selected   
a close view of Luke...  
  
And Mara Jade.  
  
Uh-oh, Vader winced even as he took a step closer to the screen to study the   
unfolding scene from a closer point of view. The children had found each other,   
and Luke's kind nature was recovering faster than it took him to levitate an   
object.  
  
"Do you truly want this boy to become a full-fledged Dark Jedi, Lord Vader?" the   
Emperor sneered in disgust even as he activated the sensitive microphones which   
were closest to the children.  
  
To his relief, they heard his son behave properly with the girl. Luke knew that   
he wasn't allowed to talk to her.  
  
Good boy, he sighed---- then winced again when the girl insisted, drawing a   
first answer, then a second... and then the child answered her as if they were   
instantaneous friends.   
  
"Yes, Master," he finally answered, then turned toward the Emperor. "The child   
is lonely, this shouldn't be taken into account, especially since Mara Jade is   
leading him on," he added with a mean touch in his voice. "Normally, he isn't   
influenced by such feelings anymore; this is a very unique situation."  
  
"Perhaps," the ruler conceded, then focused his attention on the girl. "This   
certainly isn't part of what I taught her," he grumbled unhappily.  
  
Despite the fact that he himself was resenting the girl for ruining his attempt   
to convince the Emperor of Luke's worthiness to complete the Sith training, he   
couldn't help but be worried for her.   
  
A silence followed, punctuated only by his mechanical breathing, until it   
was broken again by the Emperor.  
  
"Well, this certainly is most unexpected," he commented under his breath even as   
he stood from his throne to study the images of the two chatting children.  
  
"What is, Master?" he asked diligently.  
  
The Emperor remained silent for a little while longer, then finally turned back   
toward him, a strange smile playing on his craggy lips.  
  
"It seems that we have managed to find two Force-mates, my friend," he commented   
even as he turned back toward the image of the children.  
  
"Force-mates??" Vader gaped despite himself. "As in soul mates ordained by the   
Force?"  
  
"Just so," the older man smiled in that strange smile of his once again. "Young   
Jade and your son have been feeling the pull between them for a few weeks now,   
as if drawn like magnets."  
  
"What do you wish us to do about this, Master?" he asked respectfully, aware   
that the Jedi bonding thing 'couldn't' help his son in any way.  
  
"We will not intervene yet, my friend," the other answered him, his anger and   
frustration gone from his voice, instead being replaced by interest.  
  
Vader instantly understood that his master had seen a vision of the two children   
when older, and he had liked it.  
  
"You may further the boy's training, but you will also initiate him more   
obviously to his future service to 'me'," he added more seriously. "And," he   
finished with warning undertones, "make sure he learns to not feel anymore."  
  
Like he himself lived, Vader understood.  
  
"As you wish, Master," he bowed respectfully, then turned on his heel and   
returned to his son who was fighting hard against his temptation to talk more   
openly with young Jade.  
  
When he crossed the double doors, his eyes immediately sought the two children;   
they both stood at attention, then his son resumed his perfect servitude.  
Young Jade, however, told him something before she walked away from him; she   
bowed her head to his own presence when she crossed path with him, then   
disappeared in the throne room.  
  
He himself walked past the waiting boy; Luke silently fell in step behind him.   
  
  
  
  
  
Luke didn't know what to expect from his master; he knew that he couldn't hide   
anything from him, so he 'knew' that the other knew about his recent meeting.  
  
*You spoke with someone,* his master stated.   
  
*Yes, Master,* he instantly admitted, repentant. *She told me to speak with   
her.*   
  
His master seemed to consider his excuse; he hastened his pace. *Since she is   
special to the Emperor, you may speak with her if she speaks to you, but you   
will not talk with anybody else but her,* he instructed him warningly.  
  
*I understand, Master,* he sent in obedience, then breathed in relief.   
He hadn't angered his master, and, he thought with some earnestness, he would be   
able to talk to Mara again if she came again around him.   
  
He had to admit that he had really liked to talk with her.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
The following days, his master reported several other times to the Emperor; Mara   
was almost always in the corridor, much to Luke's delight.   
  
During their second meeting, they compared what they were learning from their   
masters, and thus discovered that they were both able to use the Force; they   
exchanged a few thoughts that way.   
  
On their third meeting, they began to talk mentally to keep their dialogue and   
behavior secret from the rest of the court.   
  
The more they talked, and the more they discovered that their lives were quite   
similar, except that Luke had to accomplish chores as well as train in the   
Force. However, slowly but surely, they became friends; they even began to   
exchange thoughts at night, when they were ready to go to bed but could delay a   
little bit.   
  
However, they both knew better than to push the limits on that habit; neither of   
them wanted to anger either their master or guardian.   
  
Still, Luke slowly became eager to accompany his master in the Imperial Palace   
in hopes to see his friend while young Mara spent most of her free time around   
the Grand corridor in hope to be there if her friend came around.  
  
  
  
  
Unbeknown to both children, their behavior with one another was monitored very   
closely by their true master who constantly weighted the risk of allowing them   
to care about one another with the potential advantages of using their Force-  
bond in his strategy to rule unchallenged.   
  
Thus, while he chose to tolerate the necessary care to strengthen the natural   
bond between the children, he made sure that neither of them allowed themselves   
to 'feel' for anybody or anything else.  
  
He especially ordered the boy's father to make him use his aggressive feelings   
in combats or against challenges. He insisted that he had to be deeply steeped   
in the Dark Side before he taught him any lightsaber technique. He himself   
didn't want to take any chance with the boy's tendency to return to the Light.  
  
Meanwhile, Luke didn't feel anything but fear for his master's master: the   
Emperor. Up to now, the boy had never been in his direct presence, but as he   
grew aware of the boy's powerful fear, he decided that a change of routine was   
in order.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
Ever since Luke had set foot on Coruscant, his master had always left him in the   
corridor to wait for him. Thus, he now that he had met with Mara, he crossed   
his fingers that it would always be so.  
  
However, the day came that his hopes were crushed. The dark lord brought him in   
the throne room with himself.   
  
And did so every other time that he reported to the Emperor, as if unaware of   
how frightened the child was whenever he was within the Emperor's space.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Two weeks and half later, Luke reluctantly followed his master in the throne   
room once again.  
  
This time, his master wanted him to carry a gift for the Emperor: a lightsaber   
from one of the recently defeated Jedi. Luke understood that such a duty also   
meant that he would be closer than ever to the Emperor's chilling presence, but   
he had no choice, he reminded himself. He bravely followed in his master's   
wake, taking strength in the fact that he was not alone with the galactic ruler.  
  
Holding the weapon's new, richly decorated case in front of himself, Luke kept   
his eyes down on the deck, then on the steps that he climbed as he obediently   
followed his master toward the powerful ruler.  
  
Like every other time that he had been in the ruler's presence, either via   
holonet or not, he felt cold terror creep up his spine before it invaded every   
cell of his body. He knew all too well now that the Emperor was even more cruel   
than his master was; he hurried to clear his mind from such thoughts, aware that   
they would anger the ruler.  
  
He didn't want to give him a reason to punish him, but unlike for his master, he   
didn't know what the Emperor tolerated and what he didn't accept. Even Mara   
didn't really know; she only knew that he was not someone to upset.  
  
Hence, he himself always feared that the Emperor would find a reason to punish   
him while he was in his presence.   
  
Once on the last platform of the stairs, he knelt respectfully, then remained   
still on his knee and kept his mind blank... until his master signaled him to   
give him the gift for the Emperor.  
  
Once again, Luke sighed inwardly in relief, he was glad that his master was   
taking it from him before offering it to the galactic ruler instead of making   
him do so.  
  
The less he would have interactions with the Emperor, the better he would feel.   
  
And so it went every time that he followed his master inside the throne room.  
  
And unbeknown to the child, his reactions greatly pleased the evil darksider.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
  
When on Coruscant, Luke's routine of chores continued. Time passed until they   
were a few weeks away from his ninth anniversary.  
  
That morning, he brought the usual black cloak to his master and helped him   
fasten it around his broad shoulders, then continued with their normal routine--  
- until his master gave him a most unusual order.   
  
He instructed him to bring him his lightsaber.   
  
Normally, Luke reflected reflexively, his master always picked it up himself; he   
didn't allow him to touch any kind of weapon...   
  
However, he didn't question his order; he walked over to the shelf and picked up   
the deadly weapon, then brought it to his master as fast as he could... but not   
before taking a nano-second to take a closer look at it. It had always   
fascinated him... once it had stopped being a threat to him.   
  
It really was an elegant weapon, he thought seriously even as he gave it to his   
Master, who hooked it to his belt before he left him alone to make his room.   
  
Luke went about his morning chores. That morning, he had to sift through the   
data that were sent by his master's spy and file them away for his master; his   
lord would study them later that day.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
The next morning, and the following ones, his master repeated his new order...   
allowing him to give him his lightsaber. The more young Luke came in contact   
with the weapon, and the more he yearned to manipulate it like his master did...   
  
And as his father had surmised would happen.  
  
Vader was very aware of his son's interest for his weapon; he also knew that it   
would be easier that way to make his upcoming new training look like a new   
privilege instead of a planned operation. That way, he would not arouse the   
child's suspicions; clever as his son was, he had no doubt that he would figure   
out that something was going on if he were to simply tell that he would teach   
him about lightsabers now.   
  
Huh-uh, that wouldn't be wise at all, he reflected seriously.  
  
On the other hand, if he created opportunities for the boy to find a 'saber',   
then waited for him to give him an occasion to intervene... without punishing   
him, he could feel that Luke's new transition toward a higher level of knowledge   
would happen without any mishap at all.  
  
Hence, he had already scattered a few metallic rods in a few strategic places of   
the palace. Now, it was up to his son to find one of them... and use it.  
  
Vader's patience paid off. A few days later, while tidying up the lower storage   
area, Luke finally 'stumbled' on a metal bar.   
  
  
  
  
Luke was using the Force to push crates and apparels back in their proper place   
when a slim, metallic bar appeared in amongst his latest selection of items. He   
dropped them and pulled the bar to his hand; he carefully hefted it. It would   
be just about the right size of a lightsaber, he reflected carefully even as he   
checked in his back to see if he were being watched.  
  
He was alone.  
  
Gingerly, he half-crouched in a ready position, then began to shift the bar from   
right to left, imagining that he was blocking the blade of an attacker. He   
tried it a few more times--- then caught himself and put the bar down before he   
continued his chore. However, he didn't put the bar away.   
  
He now had an idea about how he could try his hand at lightsaber techniques.  
  
  
******  
  
  
Since he didn't have much free time for the rest of the day, he barely practiced   
his fake movements before going to bed that night, but, the next day, he earned   
himself a period of free time.  
  
He fetched his bar and headed for the remote-training room.   
  
Normally, he had to dodge the bolts while catching the remotes, but tonight, he   
thought eagerly, he would stop them with his 'blade'.   
  
He picked two remotes, set them on sting, then took a deep breath and focused on   
this new exercise. Deep in touch with the Force, he felt the origin of the   
bolt and shifted his arms to block the bolt.   
  
A loud zinging sound informed him that he had succeeded---- then an other   
warning came and he shifted again, and again, and again, trusting his feelings   
to guide him.   
  
The more he blocked the bolts, the more confident he became, satisfied of   
himself.   
  
He never missed.   
  
  
  
When the bar became too hot to hold though, he reluctantly put an end to the   
exercise. He grinned in pride. He had been great, and he knew it; he had also   
been especially good when he had gotten angry at the small little hornets.   
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
A few days later, he was once again practicing lightsaber moves, even though he   
hadn't revealed his new activity to his master yet.   
  
He didn't know if he would approve or not... but he himself didn't want to put   
an end to his new ability. He loved to beat the annoying remotes with his   
'weapon'. He continued to focus his frustration on the robots and was blocking   
a bolt from one of his three remotes when the door behind him opened.   
  
Naturally, Luke immediately knew who was there as well as why he was there; he   
should have told him, he instantly admonished himself even as he stopped his   
remotes, dropped his bar and turned toward his master.   
  
He bowed his head in repentance. "I'm sorry, Master," he apologized with all   
his heart. "I just wanted to try it."  
  
Vader silently stepped closer; Luke cringed, having a bad feeling about this.   
The dark lord Force-called the metal bar to his hand. A long silence ensued,   
filled with unwelcome fear.   
  
Finally, his master spoke. "If you want to learn lightsaber skills, child, you   
have to use a real lightsaber," he stated coolly.   
  
Luke looked up at that, confused and doubtful. Vader brought his free hand to   
his belt and pulled his weapon from it.   
  
He offered it to the bewildered boy; Luke could only gape at the offered weapon.   
  
"Take it, and try it for real this time," the older man encouraged him.  
  
Luke hesitantly reached forward and took the handle from his master's large   
hand, then turned his back to him and faced the remotes once more.   
  
"You were very good against three remotes set on slow," his master told him   
seriously. Two remotes retreated toward the wall. "Let's see how good you are   
against one on a fast setting."  
  
Luke nodded even as he swallowed hard, then he turned on the lightsaber. It's   
ruby-red blade shot forth, dazzling him with its brilliance.   
  
"Don't look at your blade, boy," his master instructed him. "Always focus on   
the opponent."  
  
Luke took his eyes off the beautiful blade. It seemed to disappear from his   
field of vision, but he knew that it was still there. He focused, turned on the   
remote, and flowed with the Force's guidance.   
  
He instantly discovered that it was much more difficult than he had thought.   
He got hit a couple of times at first until he adapted to the weight of the   
weapon. Once he was good against the medium setting, the pace increased,   
frustrating him anew. He barely had time to block before the other bolt came.   
When he got hit three times in a row, he let his anger come forth; he felt the   
Force's energies increase unlike anything he had ever felt before.   
  
The darn little blasts wouldn't touch him again, he resolved defiantly.   
  
  
  
  
Darth Vader watched his son work and smiled in fatherly pride. He truly was his   
father's son. Both a natural in flying and lightsaber skills. And as he had   
surmised, the boy had been drawn like a moth to the traditional weapon, as if   
aware that it was part of his destiny.   
  
He had gotten one step closer to revealing the truth to him, he thought   
seriously.   
  
Then just to add to the challenge and be prouder of his son, he activated   
another remote.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
Luke's anger increased when the two remotes managed to hit him.   
  
Darn, he just couldn't move fast enough to step out of the way of both attack...  
  
The remotes' drones died out. "It'll be enough for a first time, boy," his   
master told him coolly.  
  
Luke turned off the blade and gave the weapon back to his master. "I didn't   
know that it was this difficult, Master," he commented, disappointed.  
  
Vader took his weapon for his son's small hand, then crouched in front of the   
boy, ending up at eye level with him.   
  
Luke didn't flinch in the least, now used to his master's strange behavior.  
  
"It is not a question of being difficult, boy," he comforted him in his   
strangely warm, caring voice. "It is a matter of knowing the advanced   
techniques. Do you think you're ready?" he then asked him.  
  
Luke's eyes shone with expectation. Advanced techniques? His master was going   
to teach him more about the Force???  
  
"Yes, Master!" he smiled in eagerness.  
  
"Good, we begin tomorrow evening," he informed him.  
  
The two of them gazed at each other for a short while, then Luke initiated a   
step toward his master, but stopped himself.   
  
Instead, he bowed his head in respect. "Thank you, Master," he told him   
gratefully.  
  
"You're welcome," Vader returned, standing up. "Go get a shower now."  
  
"Yes, Master."   
  
  
  
As Luke walked out of the room and headed for his room, Vader watched him go.   
His son had been about to open up to him, he reflected seriously. He had been   
on the brink, had definitely meant to shorten the distance between them, but he   
wasn't there yet.  
  
His conscious self had stopped him.  
  
He decided to pay attention to other similar signs before telling him the truth,   
but he knew that it would happen sooner than later now.   
  
He couldn't wait to give him back his full name.   
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
Throughout the following days, Luke trained with his master. Unlike the other   
times that he had taught him how to use his abilities, the dark lord didn't   
simply give him instructions, he showed him how to do it and also offered him   
physical support when needed.   
  
Throughout the first days, his master taught him how to use his focus to flip   
himself, levitate himself, then how to use his physical strength to move with   
incredible speed, even when he somersaulted. Then, once he was ready, they   
resumed his practices with the lightsaber.  
  
The more Luke learnt to use all his knowledge and skills together, the more he   
felt a connection with his master until he almost felt like a younger version of   
him... sometimes. However, he never allowed himself to share that thought with   
his master; it was a ludicrous one.   
  
Of course, he knew that the dark lord had bought him for the sole reason that he   
had been Force-strong, and he also knew that his master had always meant to   
train him like this, once he would be ready. But to think that the he was   
somehow meant to be with the dark lord...   
  
That was somewhat farfetched.  
  
And yet, it grew in strength... especially when his regular service began to   
extend to the Emperor's as well.  
  
The more he served the galactic ruler, and the more he felt in his heart that   
there was something between himself and his true master... The Emperor was truly   
treating him like a servant... a slave, whereas Lord Vader was... like a   
guardian, kind of...  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Later that night, after another training session with Lord Vader, Luke laid   
awake on his bed.  
  
Today had been a very tiring day, he admitted; he was even more exhausted than   
when he had begun to use his levitation skills.  
  
Since the Emperor requested perfection, something that his master had never   
really mentioned, serving him was very demanding. Lord Vader wanted things to   
be done the right way, and completely, but perfection... that was something   
else.  
  
Today, after a party in the Court and serving the Emperor and Prince Xizor, he   
had been left alone with the Emperor when his master had had to supervise an   
emergency.   
  
Between finding a copy of a very precise newsreport for the Emperor, to filing   
in the correct order the data that had just been given to him by one of his   
sycophants, Luke had constantly feared to do something wrong and upset him.  
  
He had been very, very happy when his master had finally returned with a report   
to the Emperor.  
  
However, he reluctantly conceded that serving the Emperor had served him right   
today.  
  
Up to now, he had always thought that the man was pure evil, but thanks to the   
reports that he had filed for him, he had seen how wrong he had been. Kind of   
like for his master, he thought seriously, but his master was still better than   
the other, somehow.  
  
The Emperor, for his part, was trying to unify the galaxy and bring it peace and   
justice. His own master was given the military tasks that this goal implied.   
Sometimes, he thought with a wince of sympathy at the victims of attacks, these   
two beings had no choice but to use violence...  
  
If the galaxy didn't rebel, he then thought seriously, they wouldn't be hurt,   
just like himself wasn't now that he behaved---  
  
Suddenly feeling the need to share his thoughts with someone, he reached out and   
searched for the only other mind that he had learnt to find: Mara's.  
  
The moment he contacted her, he felt that she was studying something; her   
ankles, he felt, were crossed under her desk while she was leaning her head   
against her hand. Her hair was undone and tickling her neck.  
  
*Luke!* she mentally smiled at him. *How are you? I haven't seen you lately.*  
  
*I know, I'm sorry,* he apologized. *I don't want to disturb you, but I have a   
question about your master,* he asked seriously.  
  
He felt her abandon her datapad to focus on him.  
  
*Okay, what is it?*  
  
*Do you... think that what he does is good?* he asked with slight hesitation.  
  
His friend remained silent at his question, obviously shocked that he had asked   
it in the first place.  
  
*Of course, why do you ask?* she finally inquired with the barest hint of   
defiance in her voice.  
  
*I, huh,* he tried to justify himself, *I am beginning to think so too,* he   
admitted, *but I'm not sure... that's not how I felt before today.*  
  
*Then you're improving,* she commented warmly--- then shortly left their contact   
when someone entered her quarters. She returned a few seconds later. *I'm   
sorry, Luke, it's time for bed. Take care of yourself,* she told him warmly.  
  
*You too, and good night,* he sent, then reintegrated his own senses.  
  
That's when he became aware of the approaching presence of his own master.  
  
He hurried to get rid of his shirt even as he pulled his bed open with the   
Force, then slipped under the blankets.  
  
However, he wasn't fast enough to turn off his light before his master opened   
the door.  
  
"I felt that you were still awake," the dark lord commented as he stepped in the   
room. "Is something troubling you?" he asked him in his no-longer surprising   
caring fashion.  
  
At first, Luke meant to hide the truth from him; it was his mind, his worries,   
it wouldn't upset his master if he didn't tell him, he thought seriously.   
However, he was also aware that he didn't want to lie to him.  
  
"It's about the Emperor, Master," he admitted even as he sat up in bed to gaze   
at his master.  
  
The tall man sat on the foot of his bunk. "The Emperor?" he asked in what felt   
like surprise to the child.   
  
"I... I don't mean to insult him, Master," he explained right away, then lowered   
his eyes in shame when he realized what he had just said.  
  
He had done just that with the mere mention of this word. To his surprise   
however, his master didn't react in a bad way.  
  
"Very well," he nodded agreeably, "I will understand. What question do you   
have?"  
  
Unsure if he should proceed or not, Luke slowly raised his head until he could   
meet his master's eyes once again, then veiled them with his eyelashes in shame.  
"Is the Emperor an evil man, Master?" he barely whispered.  
  
The ensuing silence didn't reassure him.  
  
  
  
  
For a moment, Vader couldn't believe his ears. While he had been aware of the   
intense fright that the boy felt for the Emperor, and that the other was pleased   
by it, the ruler had never been a subject of discussion or question between   
them.  
  
He had always assumed that the intelligent boy was able to see the facts for   
what they were, and Force knew that he had witnessed more than one aspect of   
what his life would be in the Empire, but it was only dawning on him that   
the child was just a child.  
  
He couldn't make the difference between evil and necessary strength.  
  
"No," he reassured his son, "he is not evil. He is hard," he conceded,   
"demanding, and ruthless, but he is not evil. He seeks to unify the galaxy, to   
bring back peace and justice."  
  
"I... I saw it today," the worried child admitted from the other end of the   
bunk. "You taught me to use my feelings about people, Master," he continued   
slowly, "I... until today, I didn't have a good feeling about the Emperor," he   
admitted truthfully.  
  
Vader, who was more than aware that he hadn't told the whole truth to the boy,   
suddenly understood that he didn't have to; the child already knew, but he had   
also begun to see past the negative part of the Empire to see its positive side.  
It was a very good thing, he thought seriously.  
  
However, he still couldn't tell him the truth; he needed to gain the boy's   
willingness to serve the Emperor, not to scare him away from him.  
  
"It was probably due to your witnessing only the military side of the Empire,"   
he half-lied to the boy. "It biased your judgment. However, now that you can   
see the rest of the Empire, it is readjusting itself; it's normal and a good   
thing."  
  
"So... I was wrong, but not completely?" the child inquired hesitantly.  
  
"In a way," Vader nodded, "but you must understand one thing about the military   
actions," he told him more seriously, aware that he was playing the child's   
whole future with his next sentence. "The Empire doesn't generate them, they   
are always the results of violence in the population; we merely intervene to   
insure security and peace."  
  
The child's brilliant blue eyes locked themselves on his hidden ones, then, as   
if putting together his memories from their time aboard the Executor with what   
he had just been told, he slowly nodded in agreement.  
  
"I understand, Master. Thank you," he told him gratefully.   
  
"Do you have any other question?" he asked him.  
  
"No," the child shook his head, then slipped back under his blanket. "I'll be   
able to sleep now."  
  
"Good, we have a busy day tomorrow to catch up on today's lack of practice," he   
informed him even as he stood up, then, after keeping himself from caressing the   
boy's hair like when he was visiting him when he was asleep, left him to his   
rest.  
  
  
  
  
  
On his way to his own room, Vader reflected that the Emperor couldn't have asked   
for a better opening for the child's willing servitude. However, he conceded   
that it remained to be seen if Luke's fear would become a little more subdued   
after tonight... or if he needed more help to control it and see the Emperor as   
also part of his life.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
The next day, young Luke spent a lot of time considering what his master had   
told him about the Empire.   
  
True, he conceded, his master was more than what he seemed and he himself now   
gave him his respect despite that title. He still didn't want to displease him,   
but now, it was because his master didn't need this kind of problem over his   
other ones, and, he conceded that he himself was beginning to care a lot about   
his new... guardian.   
  
Lately, he regularly saw beyond the harsh, cruel front of the dark lord; he knew   
that the other had a heart after all, but kept it well hidden, except from him.   
  
Ever since he himself had been allowed to follow him outside, he had seen him   
protect this or that population, or even certain persons, and on a more personal   
aspect, he had given him many privileges which now left no doubt as to his   
master's care for him in particular.  
  
Those latest actions were also giving him undeniable hints that the dark lord   
was obviously sharing his thought that he was his new guardian more than master   
now.   
  
So in short, lord Vader was a good man, a military commander and administrator   
who was trying to save pain to the citizens of the Empire.   
  
Kind of like the Emperor, he then shyly admitted. The difference though was   
that the ruler was above his master, making difficult decisions which his master   
then carried out.  
  
Those decisions, though, could be avoided. He now knew now for sure that if   
nobody would rebel against the Empire, nobody would get hurt. If only he could   
talk with some of them, he thought seriously, then shook his head in scolding.  
  
Now what was he thinking about, he asked himself. Despite what his master was   
teaching him, he was still a servant, bound by his obligation to please his   
master. He couldn't allow himself to dream... of being like him...   
  
And yet, he was. Ever since he had begun his more intense training, he had   
grown aware that like the dark giant, he was becoming powerful in the Force; he   
had no doubt that with a little more training, he would be able to serve him   
still, yes, but by helping him pacify the galaxy for the Emperor.  
  
That way, he would be able to save the lives of children... and of their parents   
if he could.   
  
Perhaps, he then thought hopefully, his dream wasn't completely impossible this   
time. He now knew that his master considered him more like an excellent servant   
than a slave... Perhaps it was the condition to free him.  
  
And, Luke conceded seriously, he would indeed be glad to recover his freedom   
that way, but he wouldn't return to dreary Tatooine.  
  
Instead, he would stay with his new guardian and serve him, this time freely.  
After all, he shrugged next, the situation was not this bad when he took a   
moment to analyze it.   
  
It was almost even better than at his uncle's the farm. Almost...  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
Two weeks later, after their going back to the Executor for a quick mission,   
Luke nodded to Mara in salutation, then followed his master inside the throne   
room.   
  
Again.  
  
Once they reached the top of the stairs, he remained, as usual, a few steps   
behind his Lord, then knelt on the last platform before the highest one. Lord   
Vader continued up until he was standing on the Emperor's platform; he bowed in   
respect.   
  
"Welcome, my friend," the Emperor said, turning his throne around. "What news   
do you have about Diella?"  
  
"The mines and shipyards are already secured, Master, and it shouldn't be long   
before the system is safe again," his master informed the galactic ruler.  
  
"Yes... It was very clever of you to act during the night, Lord Vader. The   
resistance was minimal," the Emperor commented.  
  
"The cost of lives as well, my Master," Vader added wisely.  
  
Luke couldn't help but feel pride at his master's tactical genius. No one could   
defeat him thanks to his clever ideas.  
  
"As long as I don't hear about those rebels again," the ruler told him in   
a dismissive manner.  
  
"You won't, Master," Vader assured him.  
  
"Good," the Emperor commented as he stood up and walked closer to them. "On   
another matter," he said more seriously, "I feel a strong current in the Force   
lately."   
  
Even as Luke suddenly became aware that 'he' was at the origin of the current,   
he felt his skin crawl thanks to his reflexive fear; the Emperor was looking at   
him.   
  
Despite what he had begun to understand about the galactic ruler, he couldn't   
help but give in to his old fears. He didn't want to attract his atten---  
  
"Is it the boy?" the ruler inquired, his grating voice cutting into his thoughts   
and freezing them with unparalleled fear.  
  
He 'already' had the Emperor's attention.  
  
"Yes, Master," his master confirmed seriously. "He has begun to learn the   
advanced techniques."   
  
The Emperor's feet came closer; Luke felt his heartbeat quicken in fear.   
  
Mara trusted him, he reminded himself. His master had told him that he wasn't   
evil--- but he had also told him about his reactions to the Jedi, like him...   
and the Emperor killed the Jedi Knights for their renegade nature---  
  
"Stand up, boy," the ruler ordered him, cutting in his thoughts once again.   
  
Luke hurried to obey, then answered the Emperor's beckoning finger; he climbed   
the rest of the stairs to stand in front of the galactic ruler, then dared raise   
his head to let the Emperor scrutinize him as he wished.  
  
Even though it wasn't the first time that he was this close to the ruler, it was   
the first time that he was looking at him this directly. It terrified him. He   
felt very lonely all of a sudden---  
  
The Emperor brought his spindly fingers under his chin and slightly pushed his   
head further backward.   
  
"Hmm, he is fairly young," he commented as if displeased. "How old are   
you, boy?" he asked him.  
  
"Almost nine years old, Sire," Luke answered him as respectfully as he could.  
  
The Emperor turned sharply toward the dark lord at that. "Advanced techniques   
at nine years old?" he asked for confirmation.  
  
Luke already knew that he was young to learn those things, that he was powerful   
to be this good at his age, but the Emperor's reaction was telling him that it   
was also unheard of as of now.  
  
Uh-oh...   
  
"Yes, Master, and he's growing fast," his master nodded in answer to the   
Emperor's question. "He works hard and constantly seeks to improve himself," he   
Continued as he slowly walked closer to the two of them.  
  
Luke noticed the subtle movement and his mind did the rest. Could his master be   
Worried that---  
  
The Emperor gazed back at Luke, locking his yellow eyes on his terrified blue   
ones; the child hurried to empty his mind.  
  
"Do you do it to please Lord Vader?" the ruler asked him seriously, almost   
dangerously.  
  
"No, Sire, I love to learn those things," he answered earnestly.  
  
Vader gazed down at him at this, but Luke knew that his answer hadn't shocked   
his master. Lord Vader had known that already.   
  
"Interesting," the ruler commented as thankfully he let go of his chin. He   
turned back toward the dark lord. "You may continue to train him, Lord Vader.   
I want to see him train in three days from now," he then added as if in after   
thought.   
  
"It shall be my pleasure to train him here, Master," Vader bowed respectfully.  
  
"Excellent." He turned back toward the boy. "I am eager to see you in action,   
boy," he commented, his voice now charged with a dark edge.  
  
Luke bowed his head, working on automatism. For some reason, he was truly   
afraid to show his talents to the Emperor. In fact, he was more afraid of that   
than to upset him with a mistake. His master had told him that he was a Dark   
Jedi-to-be...   
  
Despite the adjective in front of the title, he was still a Jedi in training...   
Not a Sith like his master and the Emperor were.  
  
"I shall try to not disappoint you, Sire." he managed to answer, although he   
somehow knew that his powers would stupefy the ruler...   
  
He feared what would happen if he saw him as a threat. He knew all too well   
what happened to those who were seen as a threat...   
  
"Just so," the Emperor smiled thinly, then walked back to his throne. "I will   
see you both then. Dismissed."  
  
The two of them bowed respectfully, then Luke fell in step behind his master.   
  
As he followed him in the stairs, he wondered why the Emperor was suddenly   
paying attention to him. He had seen him for months now, had undoubtedly felt   
his presence in the Force before now. Had he done something that he wasn't   
aware of, he wondered even as he hastened his steps to exit the currently   
opening doors of the throne room.  
  
The moment that they were out of the room, he felt better. He sighed in relief   
and followed his master--- who entered a deserted waiting room, then, to Luke's   
continued surprise, sat down in one of the plush chairs, something he rarely did   
unless he wanted to be at eye level with him.   
  
"Are you alright?" his guardian asked him without preamble.  
  
Luke, who was already trying to process both the Emperor's and his master's   
strange behavior, turned completely mute, stumped by his master's obvious   
display of care, especially in a moment when he felt extremely lonely, as he'd   
been feeling for years now, sure, but worse too.   
  
"Uh, yes, Master. Now I am," he blurted out.   
  
"I didn't think that the Emperor would address you today, boy. Otherwise I   
would've warned you," he told him in the warm voice that he was now using more   
and more with him.  
  
At first, Luke nodded as if in understanding, then, when he felt that the other   
was not buying it, spoke up again. "Master? Why did he do it?" he asked, his   
voice breaking up. "I am merely your slave, and he saw me before today---"  
  
"Yes, but you are a Force-strong individual as well, and your potential has just   
begun to attract his attention," Vader explained seriously. "The Emperor always   
wants to know the exact potential of every Jedi who lives. You may be serving   
me, but he wants to see for himself that you aren't dangerous to him," he   
reminded him meaningfully.  
  
"Dangerous?.." he asked, furrowing his small brows.  
  
Oh no, he whined silently in growing worry, it was just like he had thought. He   
knew that he would be deemed as dangerous. He was aware that he always managed   
to impress his master, that he was more powerful than any other Jedi child Lord   
Vader had ever seen----  
  
"More powerful than him," the dark lord answered his incoherent question.  
  
"Nobody can be stronger than him," he tried to reassure himself.  
  
"You are not completely wrong, nor right. There is still a chance..."  
  
Luke paled and his heartbeat picked up to its previous speed as he remembered   
the shock that he'd felt coming from the Emperor when he had told him his age.   
"What if I look like I'm dangerous to him?.." he asked, his voice beginning to   
break up under his current tension.  
  
Lord Vader gently rested his large hand on Luke's strong yet small shoulder.  
"Don't be concerned, I am still your master. I will protect you," he reassured   
him.  
  
Protect?, Luke stopped on the word. So he was right to be afraid---   
  
His tears began to work their way down his cheeks. "Would... would he hurt me?   
Or kill me?" he inquired in a small, terrified voice.   
  
Vader's hand moved from his shoulder to his cheek, gently brushing the tear that   
had wormed its way out of his left eye. A similar one was running down his   
right cheek.   
  
"No such thing will happen as long as I am your guardian, boy," he comforted him   
seriously.  
  
Luke dimly noticed the other's choice of word to describe their relationship.   
Had it been in any other circumstances, he would have smiled in relief.   
However, he was too afraid to react.  
  
Vader continued to reassure him. "Only I can allow those things to happen to   
you, and if you show what you can truly do, it will never happen," he assured   
him.  
  
Luke looked into the dark lord's dark eye screens, definitely feeling the care   
and love that the other felt for him... and for the first time since that   
faithful day on Tatooine, he didn't feel alone anymore.   
  
Someone was now really looking after him and cared enough about him to protect   
him.   
  
It was emotional overload for the young boy who had been isolated from such   
things for too long in his young life. Without thinking, he took a step forward   
and hugged the dark lord with all his strength. "Thank you, Master," he   
whispered.   
  
The dark lord brought his hand to the boy's hair while his arms offered him the   
strong, physical comfort that he needed.  
  
A moment later, Luke finally realized what he had done, but when he felt his   
master's embrace, he didn't step away.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Vader was very tempted to tell everything to his son right there and then, but   
he couldn't. The boy was too fragile at the moment, too scared from the Emperor   
to accept his service to him. He resolved to wait for a better time, which was   
now coming closer and closer, he smiled slightly to himself.   
  
At last. But not now.  
  
Once the emotional moment was over, Luke drew away from him. "I'm sorry,   
master. I... I didn't mean to---" his son tried to apologize.  
  
"It's all right, boy. I understand," he reassured him, careful to not scare   
him. "Do you feel better now?"  
  
Luke took a deep breath and recovered his control. "Yes."  
  
"Good." Another leathery caress, then he stood up from his seat. "Let's go   
back home; we have some work to do," he reminded him seriously.  
  
Luke followed him out of the room... unaware that they would, in fact, prepare   
to push open the door of his future with the Empire.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
Luke trained harder than ever throughout the following days, focusing all his   
energies and thoughts on being able to show his 'true' potential to the Emperor;   
he trusted his master to protect him if he did so.  
  
  
  
Then... the faithful day arrived.   
  
The day of his birthday.   
  
Again...   
  
As he followed his guardian down the Grand Corridor, Luke reflected glumly that   
he seemed to have a knack to live special events on that day, events he would   
rather avoid, he added more grimly.   
  
As usual, they entered the dark throne room, then climbed up the stairs. Once   
they reached the top, he knelt behind his master, not knowing what to expect,   
but bracing himself for anything.   
  
"Ah, Lord Vader, I have been expecting this meeting," the Emperor commented   
coolly, as if trying to be kind but was unable to be so, Luke dimly reflected.  
  
"We are ready to begin, Master," his master answered equally coolly.  
  
"You will not have to intervene this time, my friend," the ruler commented even   
as he stepped closer to the two of them.  
  
Even though Luke knew that he would be addressed at one point during the   
meeting, he couldn't help but wince as the other's crawly-feeling presence   
loomed closer.  
  
"Take this," he ordered him even as he produced a lightsaber from his long   
sleeves, "and go in the room which will be opened for you."  
  
Luke hurried to stand back to his feet, humbly took the weapon from the   
Emperor's hand, then, his head still bowed, turned on his heel and headed toward   
his destiny.   
  
  
  
  
  
Vader and the Emperor watched the young Jedi's actions via a holocam.   
  
The moment that the child entered the room, remotes fired at him with the   
intent to stun him. Even as Vader felt a cold flash of fear from the boy, he   
felt him focus his thoughts, then how he abandoned himself to the Force.   
  
A fraction of a second later, his son rolled aside as he deflected the bolts   
with his shields--- then a droid came to life and tried to grab him. Even as   
Vader registered the presence of the new danger, Luke rolled away again,   
slashed--- only to discover that his blade wasn't useful against the droid.   
  
Vader cursed inwardly at that, but his son was well prepared for even that kind   
of challenge. The child almost instantly reached out and pulled wires inside   
the robot, rendering it lifeless within the next second. Meanwhile, the   
remotes, which were now firing real bolts of energy, came back onto him, trying   
to catch him in the legs while distracting him, but Luke jumped out of the way,   
again, and again while he continued to deflect their fire.  
  
And so the exercise proceeded, with his son facing down every challenge that was   
thrown at him.  
  
  
  
  
Beside the boy's father, the Emperor nodded in approval at what he saw. Ever   
since the boy had entered his world, he had been worried about the potential   
danger that he represented.   
  
He had also been reluctant to allow the child to learn about the Force, but he   
had been more than aware that if he wanted to retain Vader's loyalty in that   
matter, he needed to give him 'some' privilege.  
  
Of course, he had carefully monitored the said privilege, ready to destroy him   
at a moment's notice, but now that he was seeing him in action, he congratulated   
himself for allowing the boy's training to take place.  
  
The child, although still able to care for others, was only using the dark side   
but without relying on the corruption of his heart to feed power to his soul.   
  
He was also much, much more powerful than what he had surmised from Vader's   
reports. In time, he smiled to himself, the boy would be able to replace his   
father while providing him with even more power to use as he saw fit.  
  
However, he reminded himself grimly, he would first have to make sure that the   
child's devotion would be total and flawless; he didn't want to risk his turning   
against him. Vader's child, he realized, truly was the most powerful Jedi of   
all times, hence more powerful than he himself was.   
  
Still, he reflected greedily, the danger was well under control at the moment,   
and he had more than enough time to groom the boy as he saw fit... once Vader   
would have told him the truth.  
  
"He is extremely skilled, my friend," he finally commented to the nearby dark   
lord. "Even more than any Jedi I've ever encountered," he added greedily.  
  
"Yes, he is, Master," Vader agreed. "I think that he might be 'the' most   
powerful of all times."  
  
On the screen, Luke jumped away from a stun trap before it could activate   
itself, then dug his adult-sized lightsaber in it to deactivate it. The remotes   
continued their attack on him.   
  
"Hmm, the most powerful Jedi, and in my ranks," the Emperor stated, then turned   
toward the dark lord, waiting for him to deny this.  
  
"I haven't told him yet about us, Master," he informed him seriously. "He is   
not ready, but once he will be ready for us, I'm sure that he will understand   
the implications of his true status. He is very clever," he commented proudly,   
then, as if in afterthought, continued: "Lately, I sometimes catch some of his   
thoughts; I think that he hopes to fight at my side for you."  
  
"Most interesting," the Emperor nodded in satisfaction.  
  
The child was indeed aware of his link with his father. If he wanted to become   
like his father, then bending him to 'his' will would be much easier than he had   
foreseen. However, he thought more seriously, he would also 'teach' him where   
his devotion had to lay from now on, but only once the child would be told the   
truth, he reminded himself.  
  
"I will not wait for him to be sixteen to use him, Lord Vader," he informed the   
boy's father. "As soon as you will tell him the truth, he will begin the   
agent's training."   
  
Vader turned sideways at that, as if in confusion.  
  
The Emperor noted the protective reaction, briefly pondered whether he should   
intervene or not, then dismissed it as inconsequential. Vader could react; he   
wouldn't object to his plan.  
  
"It will make him even more deadly and versatile when he will be old enough to   
join you in commanding duties," he explained with a white lie.  
  
Besides, he shrugged to himself, for the moment, he had no intention to allow   
the boy to become a Sith while his father was still serving him well. He had   
other plans for the powerful child and future adult.  
  
"As you wish of course, Master," the dark lord bowed in obedience. "Will you   
allow me to keep him close by?" he then inquired coolly.  
  
On the screen, a third remote came out of nowhere and tried to surprise the boy.   
It didn't work. Instead, he sliced it up in two.   
  
"When you are on planet, yes," the despot nodded magnanimously, " but I will   
mostly have use for him here; he will stay when you leave," he stated with   
finality.  
  
A fair enough deal, he then thought in slight disgust at his own, unusual   
bargaining attitude. However, given the boy's caring habits, his father was now   
openly caring for him in return.   
  
As long as it didn't worsen, the Emperor thought with a sneer, he would   
'tolerate' it, but barely so.  
  
  
  
  
"Yes, Master," his servant bowed his head in acceptance of his deal.  
  
On the screen, the boy stood alone amidst a room that was now filled with wrecks   
and deactivated traps.   
  
His son truly was powerful, he beamed with pride. Now that he had gained the   
Emperor's protection, everything was slowly setting itself in place to give him   
a future unlike anything he had ever thought would be granted to him.  
  
*Come back, boy,* Vader sent him.   
  
*Yes, Master.*  
  
Even though the contact lasted less than two seconds, Vader felt his son's   
slight fear as to the result of the demonstration. The clever child 'knew' that   
he had been astounding.   
  
For a moment, he considered the option of comforting him, then decided that the   
Emperor might not appreciate this gesture. He forced himself to remain cool,   
unworried.  
  
Besides, he tried to convince himself, he himself already knew about the   
Emperor's intentions. He didn't have to worry anymore.  
  
  
  
  
Luke climbed the stairs and knelt at the Emperor's feet.   
  
"Impressive, boy, most impressive in fact," the ruler told him with barely   
concealed awe. "You truly are gifted."  
  
"Thank you, Sire," Luke said as humbly as he could, keeping his head down.   
  
"Lord Vader will complete your training," the very old adult then informed him   
coolly, but also with a hint of another, unknown feeling in his voice.  
  
Luke filed it away for later analysis but didn't dwell on it at the moment. He   
was in the Emperor's presence; he needed all his attention to please him.  
  
"When you will finish it," the ruler continued in that same strange voice, "we   
shall talk again."  
  
"Yes, Sire," Luke answered, feeling as if he had just committed himself to a new   
life.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
The very same night, just before going to sleep, Luke sat on his bed, brought   
his legs to his chest, then thought about his meeting with the Emperor.   
  
He hadn't felt fear in the Emperor this time, he reflected as he called back to   
memory the other's strange intonation. No, that hadn't been worry... It had   
been... Greed!, he suddenly understood. The Emperor was greedy to have him at   
his service!   
  
Could he be fomenting something against his master? he wondered with some   
uneasiness, but no, he reassured himself, his master would know about it... At   
least he hoped so. Besides, he thought more confusedly, what would be the   
point? He was already serving him if his master told him to do so; why would he   
want to take him from his guardian?---   
  
The door of his room opened, surprising him out of his thoughts; his master   
stepped inside.   
  
"Master," Luke instantly snapped to attention, hurrying to get to his feet.  
  
Had he missed one of his req----  
  
"Don't," the adult reassured him. "I am not here to scold you," he explained as   
he sat beside him on the bed.   
  
Luke noticed the casual way in which his master spoke. Something seemed   
wrong... "Is something bothering you, Master?" he queried diligently.  
  
"No, I just wanted to tell you how proud you made me today," his master told   
him kindly. "It is always a prideful delight to watch you in action... Luke,"   
he added, calling him by his name, something which had never happened before.  
  
"You are proud of me?" he asked in confusion, unsure to understand what was   
going on.  
  
He knew that he impressed the dark lord, sure, but pride... he had never thought   
about it. And why had he called him by his name?, he wondered next. He had   
always thought that the other had never bothered to learn it.  
  
"Yes," Vader nodded, patting his closest, small hand with his large one. "You   
could have missed, you could have crumpled under your fear, but instead, you   
impressed the Emperor. As your... guardian, it makes me proud of you," he   
repeated, his pride more than obvious in his voice and senses.  
  
Pride and... something else, Luke noticed. He slowly inched closer to his   
master, somehow feeling drawn to the dark man.   
  
"I don't know what happened while I was fighting, Master," he began   
hesitatingly, "but thank you for protecting me. Nobody has ever done that for   
me," he admitted, bitter-sweet, then looked up at the dark lord.   
  
As if understanding his silent message, his master invited him in his embrace;   
Luke buried himself in it, content to be with someone once again. As long as he   
would be with the dark lord, he knew that he would never be left to his own   
devices until he were old enough to do so... "Thank you, Master," he whispered   
in gratitude, tears threatening to invade his eyes once again.   
  
The dark lord silently answered him by tightening his hold around him. They   
remained entwined for a while before Luke decided that he had to tell the truth   
to his master about what he used to think about him.   
  
He wanted him to know that he didn't see him as a monster anymore.  
  
He braced himself then spoke up again. "I must tell you something, Master," he   
began.  
  
"Yes?" Vader asked, his strong arms tightening slightly around him while he   
himself continued to rest his head against the other's leathery, surprisingly   
soft armor.  
  
"Before I met you, one of my slavers wished for me to be bought by the   
cruelest master there was," he continued sadly. "When you became my master,   
I... I thought that he had had his wish but not anymore," he hurried to add.   
When the older man remained silent, he went on: "I couldn't have been bought by   
a better master than you, Lord Vader... You've given me a life better than what   
I had before. I want to thank you for that," he told him earnestly.  
  
  
  
  
  
As his son's words registered in his brain, Vader understood that the moment   
of truth had arrived. He had, of course, hoped for it when he had decided to   
visit his son, but he had forced himself to be realistic and not hope for too   
much.  
  
However, given his son's silent beg to be held by him, then his revelation of   
his feelings for him, he knew that it was now or never.  
  
He slightly pulled away from his son and gently brought his index under his   
small chin before he made him look up at him.   
  
The child's young features locked on his, his eyes brimming with unshed tears   
of happiness and relief. He looked so much like he himself used to, he thought   
for the millionth time since he had found him; he 'was' like him, he was his   
flesh and blood, but he was also a unique being: his son.  
  
His strong, courageous little Jedi who had already begun to conquer the galaxy   
by earning his place in the Emperor's prestigious Darksider ranks.   
  
"You don't have to thank me, Luke," he finally told him gently, feeling his   
throat tighten under the unusual emotion of love. "It was... the least that I   
could do,... for my only son," he finished warmly, definite love pouring out of   
his senses this time.  
  
It had taken a long while, but at last, he thought in relief, the masquerade was   
over.  
  
  
  
  
Luke's brain took a moment to register the last word; when it finally computed,   
he was gaping at the dark lord, emotions fighting for dominance in his heart.   
Son?!?  
  
"I love you, my son, Luke Skywalker," Vader said in the silence, caressing his   
cheek with his index.  
  
The child tried to speak but couldn't articulate a single word. He finally   
managed one. "F---F---Father?"   
  
He didn't pull away from the dark lord.   
  
"Yes, I am he," the other nodded, as if in sadness. "I'm sorry that I haven't   
told you before," he apologized earnestly, " but I had no choice. You weren't   
ready to hear the truth."  
  
Luke remained silent, thinking back to all the things that he had been through   
with the dark Lord.  
  
His father?..  
  
"I'm sorry about the past, Son... I also didn't have any other choice," the dark   
lord continued in repentance, then slowly drew him back in his embrace.   
  
Luke was too shocked to resist the gentle pull.   
  
His father?, he was still wondering. His father was alive?? He was with his   
father? The man he'd learnt to respect and even love as a guardian was in fact-  
-- his father?? His father!!!!!!!!  
  
Even as he understood all the implications of his father being alive, he   
tightened his arms around his father's frame and let out his tears of joy.   
  
"Father," he whispered, practically unable to speak.   
  
"If I could have, Luke," his father told him warmly. "I would have found you   
before this horrible experience of slavery, but I didn't even know that you   
existed. I discovered it when you told me your name," he reminded him   
wistfully.  
  
"I remember..." Luke nodded against his chest. "I love you, Father. Now, I   
love you," he specified warmly, telling him that the past was behind now.   
  
"And now I love you too, Son," the dark lord answered in kind, slightly   
tightening his hold on his boy. "I have been waiting for more than a year now   
for the right moment to tell you the truth."  
  
Luke thought back to the past year, to all the flashes of fear that he'd felt   
whenever the dark lord had come closer. "You were right to wait, Father," he   
conceded sadly.   
  
Of course, he also wished that he had known his father earlier, but he had no   
doubt that he would have had a bad reaction to this secret.   
  
"I know," his father agreed with his thoughts. "I didn't want to scare you   
again."  
  
Yes, Luke admitted, his father was right. Waiting had been the only option, but   
it was now over and he was with his father, forever now. "So what happens now?"   
he asked as he slightly pulled away until he could look up at his father's mask.   
  
"We will have to see this with the Emperor," he answered him briefly, "but we   
will certainly continue your training and your observing me. However," he added   
more lightly, "no more chores. We'll use that time of the day to spend more   
time together," he told him warmly.   
  
"That'd be great, Father!" he smiled through his tears of happiness, having   
already dismissed the detail about the Emperor. He was with his father!  
  
"I want to share so many things with you, Son," his father commented  
earnestly. "I want to build other memories with you, Luke," he told him,   
seriously.  
  
"So do I, Father," Luke smiled. He felt a change of mood in his father. "What   
is it?" he inquired worriedly.  
  
"Two years ago, I gave you an horrible birthday gift," he commented glumly, "I   
want to make it better for you this year."   
  
Luke remained silent, not knowing what to expect.   
  
"Today, Luke Skywalker, I give you back your freedom," his father stated   
solemnly. "You are no longer my property, nor can you be the property of   
anybody else."  
  
Luke felt his eyes dance with happiness upon hearing the words that he had never   
thought he'd hear any time soon. He hugged his father yet again. "I am your   
son, Father. I'm Luke Vader, and I want to become like you," he   
revealed to him with pride. "I love you."  
  
  
  
Vader was surprised to see the depth of his son's love for him, but he didn't   
comment on it. However, he was deeply relieved by it; he knew that his son   
would willingly serve the Emperor now.  
  
Father and son silently hugged each other, satisfied to be reunited at last---   
until the youngest of the two fell asleep in his dad's strong embrace.   
  
Vader for his part spent the best part of the night cradling his son in his arms   
as he watched him sleep peacefully.   
  
Such a beautiful, intelligent, strong, wonderful child, and now he didn't have   
to torment him anymore, in any way.   
  
Luke Vader.   
  
His destiny would be as powerful as his name suggested, he promised himself.   
  
He finally set his son in his bed and left him for the night. Not for the first   
time recently, he wished he could kiss him good night.   
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
The next day, they continued his training between Vader's meetings and duties,   
then finally reported to the Emperor, near the end of the afternoon. Their   
impromptu visit told him all he needed to know: the child had been told the   
truth now.  
  
He was pleased that the masquerade was already over, as least in private, and   
that Luke had claimed what was 'rightfully' his, or so the Vaders believed.   
  
He himself continued to play the game of white lies with them: he promised the   
boy to acknowledge him as a Dark Lord of the Sith, but only once he would be old   
enough... and that he had proven himself worthy of the title.  
  
While he himself knew that he would not allow the boy to claim that title until   
'he' decided otherwise, he still reassured the naive child and his father that   
he would give him all the tools that he needed to fulfill his dream, namely the   
training of an agent while he completed his Jedi training. When ready, he told   
him, he would allow him to prove himself as his best agent, thus worthy of more   
than this simple duty while pretending to be a puny slave at his father's   
service.  
  
Both Vaders bit at his hook, assuring him that the boy would be his best element   
ever.  
  
While the two of them exited the room, protecting the boy's image of a slave by   
continuing the masquerade while in public, he cackled lowly to himself.  
  
Events were finally proceeding as he had foreseen; he now only had to set them   
in motion.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
On his way out of the throne room, Vader noticed that young Mara Jade was in the   
waiting corridor, obviously hoping to see his son.   
  
As if aware that she needed a reason to speak with his son this time, the child   
pretended to have a problem with her dress' closure. He himself naturally   
stopped by her, aware of her 'predicament'.  
  
"It looks like you could use some help, child," he told her coolly.  
  
"Please? I can't see the Emperor like this," she answered as regally as she   
could while trying to pull her dress completely closed once again.  
  
Vader nodded to his son. "Go in the side room with her and help her."  
  
"Yes, Master," the child nodded obediently, then followed the nervous girl   
inside a side room.  
  
  
  
  
Once alone, the children dropped their pretense and smiled at each other.  
  
"It's great to see you again," Mara smiled at him. "It's been so long that I   
was beginning to worry that you had gotten hurt during your lightsaber   
training," she admitted.  
  
"No, it's going incredibly well. I wish you could try it too. It's very cool,   
if dangerous," he conceded with a shrug of his black-covered shoulders.  
  
Mara pouted slightly at that. "I guess I'll never know. The Emperor told me   
yet again that I couldn't do what you yourself did. My potential is, well,   
limited," she admitted sadly.  
  
"Oh," Luke winced gently, "I'm sorry... but hey, you'll never guess what   
happened yesterday!" he challenged her with fresh, suddenly barely controlled   
excitement as he remembered why he had come in this room in the first place.  
  
"You pleased the Emperor?" she asked her with a shrug of her shoulders.   
  
"No, it's even better!" he shook his head. "Vader gave me back my freedom.   
He's my father!" he told her, his excitement now bubbling out of his control.   
  
"Your--- He adopted you?" she frowned in bemusement.  
  
"No, he's my real father!" he tried to explain in spite of his joy. "Remember,   
I told you he was dead? Well, he isn't, and he didn't know about me before, but   
now we can be together," he finished in one breath.  
  
It took his friend a second or two to process everything that he had said, and   
what he hadn't, but finally her face lit up with a new, huge smile as she   
understood 'exactly' what had just happened between him and Vader. "It's   
great!" she briefly hugged him, then asked him: "So do you have a name   
now?"   
  
"Luke Vader," he smiled proudly. "In time, I'll become like him, but until   
then, the Emperor will train me to be an agent and I will have to prove to him   
that I can be like my father."  
  
"An agent?," the girl gaped in surprise. "Hey, it's like me!" she exclaimed.   
  
"You too?" the boy gaped in turn. "I thought---"  
  
Mara shook her head, interrupting him. "He finally made his decision and told   
me that he would train me to become an agent when I'll be older."  
  
"Wow!, we'll be working together then," Luke smiled happily  
  
"That would be fun," she smiled back although she didn't agree with his   
certitude about their being together.   
  
"Yeah. We'll see what he'll decide," Luke nodded more somberly.  
  
"It would not only be fun of course," Mara observed more rationally, "but it   
would give us a little more time to be together and talk," she concluded   
lightly.  
  
"I hope we will," Luke commented, then his eyes glazed shortly as his father   
contacted him. "I have to go. Don't tell this to anybody, okay? To the   
others, I must still be Vader's servant," he informed her.  
  
"You can trust me, Luke. My lips are sealed," she reassured him.   
  
"I know," he smiled, then left the room, lowering his head to assume his role of   
servant once again.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Behind him, Mara tried to recover her cooler, proper composure to meet with   
her master... who might just give her permission to 'be' with her friend, not   
just talk with him, she thought wistfully.  
  
She had to admit that it would be great.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
That evening, Luke prepared for the night, like usual, then went into his   
father's private observatory.   
  
He had been there a couple of times before, when he had been learning about   
astrography, but he had never dared come at any other time but when his master   
had been with him.   
  
Now though, he couldn't resist the lure of the space-like room.  
  
He sat in one of the chairs there, leaned back and gazed at the stars which were   
shining in the night sky. Before tonight, he had taken solace in their cool   
beauty, dreaming that someday, he would leave his life behind and see them for   
himself, but tonight, his thoughts were different.   
  
Soon, he thought expectantly, he would begin his training as an agent, and   
someday, he would help to keep the galaxy safe, like his father did. All of a   
sudden, he wasn't a puny boy lost in the galaxy; he was one if its future   
rulers!   
  
It made him smile in happiness and pride.   
  
His father entered the room. "I thought I'd find you here," he commented gently   
as he walked closer to him.  
  
"I love stars too much to not watch them, Father," he smiled back, then turned   
his attention back to the stars that were shining down on them.  
  
"I know," He offered him his hand once he was close to him. "Come, I want to   
show you something."  
  
Luke sat up and took his father's hand. They walked toward a wall--- which   
opened to reveal a protected observation balcony. Luke gaped at the millions of   
stars that were suddenly visible to his bare eye--- then understood that his   
father had chosen this side of the building for his observation balcony because   
it was facing the lightless, internal sea of Coruscant.   
  
"Wow!!" he gaped in awe.  
  
"Yes. Do you think that you can name a few of them now?" his father inquired   
softly.  
  
"There's Alderaan," he identified quickly, immediately indicating the blue star   
that was closest to them.   
  
"Good."   
  
"And there's Ryalteer, and the Hapes cluster," he added quickly while he shifted   
his pointing finger to indicate two other star clusters.  
  
"Excellent," his father praised him. "When you'll fly a ship, those will be   
your reference points," he told him seriously.  
  
"Fly?" Luke frowned, turning back toward his father. "For real?"   
  
Vader sat on a chair. "Of course, for real. Don't you want to fly?" he queried   
next.  
  
"Yes, I do, but aren't I too young?" he commented, bemused by his father's   
sudden offer... which would make his dearest wish come true.  
  
"If you aren't too young to become a Jedi, then you aren't too young for any   
other skill, Son," his father stated proudly.  
  
"Great!" he smiled instantly, content with his father's explanation. "I've   
always wanted to fly!"   
  
Vader reached over and ruffled his hair in pride. "You're so much like me," he   
Commented earnestly.   
  
Luke smiled at that, then climbed onto his father's lap and leaned against him   
as he continued to watch the stars.   
  
"Tell me about you, Father," he demanded more seriously.   
  
His father's voice took on a slightly thoughtful tone this time. "What would   
you like to know?"  
  
"How did you earn your freedom?" he asked him earnestly, then shivered as the   
cool night-air made it past his light pajama shirt.  
  
Probably sensing his trembling, Vader wrapped his arms around his son, thus   
covering him with his cape to keep him warm, then he leaned back so that they   
could watch the stars together, a passion they shared.   
  
Then, he told him about his first adventures. Luke was very interested by   
everything he revealed, especially when it concerned his mother. His father   
was his only way to know her a little.   
  
His father also told him about the Jedi's betrayal, then told him the name of   
their arch-enemy: Obi-Wan Kenobi.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Kenobi?" Luke openly frowned at that. "I know that name," he commented under   
his breath.  
  
Vader stopped cold. "What did you say?" he asked him, sitting straighter in his   
chair. "From where?" he asked him seriously.  
  
"Tatooine," the child answered him truthfully. "When I was there, there was a   
strange old hermit around the town of Anchorhead. People called him Ben Kenobi,   
or old Kenobi," his son finished with a sneer.  
  
Suddenly feeling like he had just found the hiding place of his one and true   
enemy, Vader slowly shifted his son's position on his lap until he was facing   
him.  
  
"What did he look like? Have you ever seen him?"  
  
Luke frowned slightly at his inquiry, but he didn't question it. "He was always   
dressed in a brown cloak----"  
  
That simple detail was enough for him to know that he had indeed found his   
former mentor. The man responsible for his actual state, his wife's death, and   
his son's torment, was currently on Tatooine, probably cowering in fright, as he   
had always had when faced with 'true' challenges.  
  
"What is it, Father?" the boy inquired, cutting in his thoughts. "Do you think   
that he is the same Kenobi?" the intelligent child inquired seriously.  
  
For a moment, Vader gazed at his son... and saw his anger reflected in the   
younger eyes. "Yes," he finally nodded. "I believe so. Tomorrow morning, I   
will report his presence to the Emperor."  
  
"I want to be there when you find him," the child instantly commented, his voice   
informing him that he had already made up his mind about this.  
  
"It will depend if the Emperor allows it or not, Luke," he reminded him even as   
he winced slightly at his son's lust for revenge.   
  
While he was proud of who he had become with him, he conceded that the child was   
still fairly young to be feeling such dangerous emotions.  
  
"But---" the object of his thoughts objected unhappily.  
  
"But I promise to bring him here if you can't come with me," he told him   
seriously.  
  
The child remained silent at that, then nodded in acceptance.   
  
A silence stretched between them, then Luke spoke up again. This time, he was   
just a child once again, no longer a would-be avenger of his family.  
  
"Father?," he queried, "Could we go back to Tatooine, but only to see my foster   
family?" he asked him earnestly.  
  
The dark lord arched an unseen eyebrow at that. "Why?" he probed him seriously.  
  
He knew all to well how intelligent his son was; if he had something in mind   
regarding Kenobi, he didn't want to encourage him without having the Emperor's   
permission.  
  
"I want to reassure Aunt Beru that I'm okay," Luke told him earnestly,   
truthfully. "I know that she and uncle Owen lied to me, that they were probably   
working with the Jedi, but they took care of me while I was little; they deserve   
to know that I'm at least well," he finished seriously.  
  
Vader couldn't help but sigh in strange relief at seeing that his son's good   
heart was still strong enough to even overcome his hatred for the Jedi.   
Consider that this trait would make him spare the innocents when he would be   
older, he reflected that it would make him a good servant of the Dark Side.   
  
"You know that if they find out about you and me..." he reminded him seriously.  
  
"I won't tell them," Luke reassured him. "You can drop me for a quick visit,   
then pick me up. Nobody will know but us."  
  
"And you give me your word to not attempt anything about Kenobi while there?" he   
asked him pointedly.  
  
"I promise," the boy answered truthfully.  
  
The dark lord pondered this request for a while. Finally, he asked him: "Is it   
important for you?"  
  
"Yes, very," Luke nodded.  
  
He sighed. "Then we'll go. But just for an hour or two at most, and I have to   
clear it first with the Emperor," he informed him coolly.  
  
"I understand," Luke smiled, then leaned back once again and buried himself in   
his father's cape and arms. "What's that one?" he asked, pointing to a star.  
  
As the dark wave of revenge washed away from their hearts, Father and son spent   
the rest of the evening giving names to the diamonds in the sky.  
  
  
  
  
  
To be continued in part 4: Servant of the Emperor  
  
Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)   
(Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff won't even be read.) 


	4. Part 4: Training for the Emperor sorry, ...

Luke Vader: From Slave to Dark Lord of the Sith  
Part 4: Training for the Emperor  
By SJ 24-07-00/23-10-00  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: None of this belong to me; everything in the Star Wars Universe   
belongs to George Lucas.   
See my home page for more details.   
Http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
  
_____________________  
  
  
  
On Tatooine, the shuttle touched down on the overheated sands which were nearby   
the moisture farm that had witnessed Luke's first years of life. As he gazed at   
the familiar sight, the child noticed that the appearance of the metallic bird   
had attracted attention; Owen Lars had stepped outside to watch it land. His   
stance, young Luke Vader reflected, betrayed his worried set of mind; he himself   
knew that it was not a good strategy against a potential enemy. He also had no   
doubt that as it had always been with any visitor, his 'uncle' was wondering if   
he would be dealing with a friend or a foe.  
  
In this case, he smiled to himself, he shouldn't think about a foe.  
  
His father, the Dark lord of the Sith Darth Vader, had chosen a non-imperial   
design with a darkened canopy; nobody could see inside the ship proper, thus   
protecting the identity of the pilot. Hence, his father's presence wouldn't be   
revealed in any way and he would be free to hunt down Kenobi's presence to   
ascertain his presence on the planet.  
  
However, he reminded himself, neither of them were allowed to kill the crazy   
Jedi; the Emperor had been very explicit when he had forbidden them to kill   
'that' Jedi. Once alone, he had asked his father why the Jedi would be allowed   
to live while they were hunting down the rest of the order; his father had told   
him not to question the Emperor's judgment. He knew more than they themselves   
did.  
  
Pulling himself out of his memories, Luke refocused on the approaching figure of   
his uncle; he eagerly undid his buckle and jumped down his seat.   
  
"I'll pick you up in two hours," his father told him. "Remember---"  
  
"Don't tell them about the truth, I know, Father," Luke assured him. "I will   
be ready in two hours. Thanks again, and good hunt," he added with a grimmer   
edge.  
  
Vader ruffled his hair, then nudged him toward the exit. "I will find the Jedi.   
Go now. You've waited long enough for this."  
  
Luke smiled at his father, then ran down the short corridor and the lowered   
ramp. He ran toward the farm, yelling: "Uncle Owen!"  
  
In front of him, the man let go of his rag when he recognized the boy who had   
come out of the shuttle.   
  
"L---L---"  
  
Suddenly uncertain about his welcome, Luke stopped a few meters away from him,   
unsure whether he could throw himself in his arms or not. He wouldn't have   
hesitated if it had been his 'aunt', he dimly reflected.   
  
"Don't you recognize me, Uncle Owen?" he asked uncertainly.  
  
"Luke? Is that really you?" the man inquired.   
  
Luke smiled. "Yes."  
  
To his surprise, the large man engulfed him into a warm, bear-like embrace.   
  
"By the gods we were so worried about you. Where have you been? What happened?   
Who's with you?" he asked in quick succession.  
  
Luke couldn't answer all those questions at the same time; instead, he returned   
the hug, one of the rare ones that the man had ever given him. Behind him, his   
father lifted off to accomplish his mission, but also to leave him alone with   
his former guardians.   
  
Owen uncertainly watched the shuttle leave, then he refocused on his 'nephew'.  
Luke read in his eyes that he couldn't believe that he was back.  
  
"Come on inside, you don't know how happy your aunt will be to see you," he   
smiled.  
  
Even as he accepted the invitation, Luke reflected that he had never seen the   
man smile before; he understood that the man obviously cared for him after all.   
He had just never thought about his uncle as caring... but then, he conceded,   
his father hadn't come off as a caring person when he had met him. Life, he   
smiled happily, was full of great surprises.  
  
"I'm eager to see her too," he answered his uncle, excitement clear in his   
voice.  
  
The moment that they stepped into the sunken courtyard, he spotted the presence   
of the woman he remembered more than his own mother; she was standing at the   
foot of the stairs of the courtyard, like she had always done whenever a visitor   
had come by.   
  
She too gaped at him when she identified him. This time, Luke didn't hesitate   
and ran toward her.   
  
"Aunt Beru," he smiled, hugging her tightly in his small arms.   
  
His aunt crouched to his level and pulled him warmly against herself.   
  
"Oh, Luke, I missed you so much," she whispered, her voice breaking up thanks to   
her tears of joy.   
  
"I missed you too, aunt Beru," he answered, tightening his hold on her.   
  
However, holding her wasn't enough; she gently pulled away from him and studied   
him. He was wearing his black, formal clothes; he knew that his slave marks   
were obvious to any good observer. Beru gasped and brought her hand to her   
mouth as she understood what had happened. The man behind him noticed her loss   
of composure.   
  
"What is it?" he asked her.  
  
"He's... He's been a slave," she finally managed to tell her husband even as she   
took his right hand in hers and hid the mark on his wrist.  
  
"What?!" Owen gasped, worriedly turning his charge back toward himself.   
  
He too saw the signs that his wife had detected; his face became red with anger.   
Even without the Force, Luke knew how to interpret the coloring on the man's   
face.  
  
He hurried to reassure both of them. "It's okay now," he told them, touching   
both his aunt's shoulder and uncle's hand.  
  
He dimly noted that he was duplicating the mannerism that what his father had   
often used with him when he had been sad or afraid. He truly was taking after   
him, he smiled inwardly.  
  
"How did you escape?" his uncle asked him, sitting in the steps to be at eye   
level with him.   
  
However, the child reflected, it might also be because the news were too much   
for even him.  
  
"I didn't..." he began, shaking his head. "I am still a slave," he admitted.   
  
"No, Luke..." Beru pleaded, lovingly touching his face with her hand. "It's not   
f---"  
  
"It's okay now," he repeated. "I have a good master now," he told them   
earnestly, warmly, making sure that they felt his attachment to his father.  
  
"A good master?" Owen inquired, doubtful.  
  
"Yes," Luke nodded, "He takes care of me and he treats me well. It was worse   
before I was purchased by him," he lied smoothly.   
  
"Bad?" Beru inquired, understanding that he had been hurt in the past. "No..."   
she whispered, horrified that 'her' little boy had been through the horrors of   
slavery. And, if he was still a slave, it meant--- "You're not staying," the   
woman said, her eyes filled with tears.   
  
"No, I'm sorry," Luke apologized sadly. "I could only get a two-hour permission   
to spend time with you and reassure you. I knew that you were worried about   
me."  
  
"Worried?" Owen exclaimed. "I searched the desert for weeks in hope to find   
you, boy."  
  
"I prayed the gods to protect you, wherever you were," Beru added gently,   
touching his face yet again.   
  
"I know... but you don't have to be worried anymore. I am well, and if I serve   
this master right, I will earn back my freedom, and more," he told them eagerly,   
his eyes suddenly shining like the stars in the galaxy.  
  
"You shouldn't have lost your freedom in the first place," his uncle commented   
angrily.   
  
Beru nodded in agreement, then gently took hold of Luke's arms, turning him back   
toward her.   
  
"Luke, what happened exactly?" she asked him.  
  
He took a moment to remember the events of that dreadful day, then took a deep   
breath and began his retelling. He hated to dwell in the past, so he made it   
succinct.   
  
"I was playing in the desert when I got kidnapped. Then, they sold me to Jabba,   
who in turn sold me to the highest bidder. I was with a cruel master for a   
little over four months before he sold me to my new master."  
  
"Who is he?" Owen and Beru asked simultaneously.  
  
"He is a military commander, but I can't reveal his name." He paused. "I am   
his first slave; he bought me to free me when I would be old enough to fend for   
myself," he finished, hoping to reassure them and stall any new argument.   
  
It didn't exactly work.  
  
"Then why not give you back to us?" Owen argued.  
  
Luke looked at them, stars of excitement shining anew in his eyes.   
  
"Because I told him that I wanted to live with him," he informed them seriously,   
then became slightly sadder when he realized he had hurt their feelings. "I   
love you both, aunt Beru, uncle Owen, but my new life is great," he hurried to   
add. "I don't want to become a farmer; I want to become a pilot, and with my   
new master, I can begin my training right away," he explained earnestly.  
  
Beru's hold on him slightly tightened.   
  
"Luke, don't do this. You are still just a slave," she told him gently. "We   
love you; we missed you and we'd give anything to have you back with us."  
  
Owen rested his large hand on his shoulder, thus discovering that the boy was   
stronger than he looked; he understood that he was indeed well treated. That   
didn't change his mind about what he was going to tell him though.  
  
"She's right, Luke. Why don't you talk to your master and ask him to leave you   
with us? You were happy here, weren't you?"  
  
"Yes,---"  
  
"Then come back with us," Beru pleaded gently.  
  
Luke stepped away from their touches. He locked his gaze with them, his eyes   
becoming less innocent and more... mature. They had to understand that there   
was no changing his mind, he thought seriously.  
  
"I was happy here, but I'm happier with my master," he stated seriously. "You   
can't understand what it means to be with him. I have more opportunities with   
him than I will ever have with you." He turned toward his uncle. "You always   
told me not to dream about some things, uncle Owen, remember? Well now, I don't   
dream them ;" He looked again at his aunt. "I live them."  
  
"But you're only nine years old!" she argued  
  
"I'm not too young for him," he shrugged. "My service to him trains me and   
teaches me many things that I want to learn," he explained, then covered his   
tag with his hand. "Because of this, people see me as a slave, but with him, I   
am not. He is my new guardian."  
  
Naturally, his former guardians didn't accept his reasoning and began to argue   
more seriously with him.  
  
  
  
  
His 'uncle' and 'aunt' tried to dissuade him for the rest of the time that he   
spent with them, but when his father's shuttle came back to pick him up, they   
relented, perfectly aware that they wouldn't keep him with themselves.   
  
Luke slowly stepped back toward the higher up entrance.   
  
"Look," he told them, business-like even though his voice was still that of a   
child. "I didn't come here to argue with you; I wanted to reassure you and   
tell you that I will always love you, no matter what happens." He continued more   
gently: "I made my choice."  
  
His aunt and uncle sadly shook their heads.   
  
"Remember that I am still happy," he reminded them warmly. "Don't worry about   
me anymore, please. I will be all right," he assured them.  
  
Beru took his small hand in hers; she was crying.   
  
"I understand, Luke. I wish it were different, that you'd stay with us, but I   
understand and I accept your choice. I will continue to pray the gods that they   
protect you."   
  
Luke smiled at her, then twined his arms around her neck one last time. "I'll   
miss you, aunt Beru. You were like a surrogate mother for me," he said,   
conscious that he wasn't talking like a child at the moment. He was   
talking like a servant of the Empire.  
  
He liked it.  
  
Owen rested his hand on his shoulder, turning him toward himself. The farmer   
sighed in resignation.   
  
"I do not approve, boy, but... I can't do a thing to change things, can I?" he   
asked him.  
  
"No," Luke agreed.  
  
"Then take care of yourself, Luke. You will always be welcomed in our home when   
you'll be free," the man told him warmly.  
  
Luke shook his uncle's large hand, demonstrating a maturity that hadn't been   
part of his character before, then let him pull him back in a last hug.   
  
"I will, uncle Owen," he said, restraining his sudden tears of sadness.  
He pulled away from the two adults. "I love you both, I always will," he said   
yet again. "Thank you for taking good care of me when I was little," he told   
them with all his heart even as he slowly stepped away from them.  
  
They nodded, then he turned and ran up the stairs. He stopped at the top,   
turned one last time to wave them farewell, then he ran toward the exit and his   
father's waiting shuttle.   
  
  
  
  
The moment he was aboard, the ship lifted off. Luke came up in the cockpit,   
holding onto the seats to keep his balance.   
  
"How did it go?" his father asked him.  
  
"They know that I'm happier with you, but they don't understand why I'd prefer   
to be a slave than be free."  
  
"Hmm, I guess it's understandable," his father reasoned.   
  
"Yes. At least they know that I'm fine now. What about you? Did you find   
him?"  
  
"Yes, he is here," his father nodded, "and unaware that we know about it," he   
added grimly.  
  
"Good," the child nodded in satisfaction. "Then we can---"  
  
His father rested his large hand on his short forearm which was still resting   
against his own armrest.   
  
"I know that you want to avenge yourself from him, Son, but the master was very   
clear that no harm is to come to him for the moment. He is of no danger   
anyway," he commented, referring to the lack of presence from the Jedi in the   
Force.  
  
"Sure," Luke muttered, clenching his small fists. "He's just cruel enough to   
separate a son from his father."   
  
Vader's touch tightened on his bare arm.   
  
"Don't worry, Son, you'll have your shot at him when the time will be right.   
The Emperor promised me that his time would come, but for the moment, he has   
foreseen some future, very advantageous use for Kenobi. However," he added with   
a note of mean amusement, "I took care of his memory when I found him: he   
doesn't remember you anymore. The only thing he remembers is that my son is   
somewhere, so well hidden that even 'he' doesn't know where he hid you."   
  
Luke couldn't help but chuckle shortly at the thought of the distraught Jedi.   
  
"Like a squire, huh?" he commented.   
  
"Exactly like one," his father nodded.   
  
Luke liked the image of the cursed Jedi searching for him like a squire looked   
for the provisions that he had stashed away too well before the cold days.  
  
"In time, we'll use this to your advantage, 'and' with the Emperor's   
permission," Vader promised.  
  
"I understand, Father." Luke nodded, hitching himself in the co-pilot seat.  
  
The shuttle left the stove-like atmosphere of Tatooine and headed for deep-space   
and Coruscant. The Emperor was waiting for Luke, and the child was eager to   
begin his training as an imperial agent. It was one step closer to becoming   
like his father and help him destroy the Jedi Knights.  
  
******  
  
The day after their return from Tatooine, the Emperor summoned Luke to the   
throne room... alone.   
  
Since he was still a slave, he made it look as if he were doing his master's   
bidding; he produced a clearance order from his father. Once the guards   
unlocked the doors, he kept his head down, then stepped inside the throne room   
and awaited his new master's command. He couldn't wait to start 'his' training   
and begin to show him what he could do to help his father, he thought earnestly.  
  
At the top of the stairs, the Emperor conferred with dignitaries. Luke waited   
silently, remaining immobile on the first landing of the stairs, forcing himself   
to be patient like he had always been with his own father up to now. However,   
he conceded while he crushed yet another sigh of impatience, he had never   
expected something 'after' his waiting his master. It had made it easier for   
him to stand still and be as patient as he needed to be.  
  
The dignitaries finally left without giving him a single look. The Emperor   
beckoned him forward.   
  
"Come with me," he ordered dryly.   
  
Luke followed him into yet another secret room of the throne room. To his   
surprise, Mara was there, waiting for them.   
  
  
  
"Sit down." the Emperor told the two children.   
  
The children obeyed, sitting at his feet. For a moment, he studied his two new   
elements. When he had begun to scheme for the creation of a perfect extension   
of his will, he had never suspected that he would uncover the last two Force-  
mates who lived. He had already seen how the children had been irresistibly   
drawn to one another, proving the theories about such beings. Now, he smiled   
greedily, he couldn't wait to exploit the possibilities of the link between   
those two young Force-trained children... who would someday become adults with   
even more potential. While he himself had decided to restrain the girl's   
potential, he had to admit that the boy's almost complete training wasn't as   
troublesome as he had surmised. Instead, it opened the doors to even more   
possibilities.  
  
Especially now that the boy's hatred was sure to be fed by the fact that Obi-Wan   
Kenobi was allowed to live on while all the other Jedis were being exterminated.   
As he locked his gaze on the boy's expectant features, he couldn't help but   
cackle inwardly. Thanks to the child, he had uncovered the location of another   
Jedi, but also of the best mean at his disposal to drive both father and son   
deeper into the Dark side of the Force. Of course, he conceded, he 'had'   
foreseen some shadowy use for the Jedi, in the far future, but it had been   
diffuse, uncertain. However, his feeling that using him to torment his servants   
would keep them in his claws had been real, tangible, and cold. He hadn't   
hesitated to keep the Jedi alive. He was of no consequences anyhow; even the   
boy would be able to take him out if he ever gave him any trouble. It would   
even insure his own allegiance to him, he reflected in dark glee.  
  
Pulling himself from those most satisfying thoughts, he refocused on his   
youngest servants.  
  
"It is time to tell you what I will give you, children, and what it will   
require from you," he began, feeling a thrill of expectation run through him.  
  
Those children truly represented much potential, he reflected lustfully. He   
would leave instructions that he wanted to have them operational as soon as   
possible. At his feet, the children nodded in understanding.  
  
A screen activated on the normal looking wall, instantly filling itself with   
images of what they would be able to do.   
  
"You will be my Hands, my ghosts, for the time being" he told them coldly,   
giving a glance at the boy to see his reaction; he nodded in understanding. "As   
such, nobody but me and Lord Vader will know about your existences. Your   
training will be done under the veil of secrecy, in a training center located   
away from the palace. Since some of your possible targets are inside these   
walls, avoid being seen in the palace in any other state than your actual ones."  
He gazed at each child. "Young Vader, you are a slave, someone nobody pays   
attention to. Make sure it remains so," he ordered him, then switched to mental   
speach: *And you will address me as Master from now on,* he instructed him.  
  
"Yes, Master," the boy answered smoothly, bowing his head in respect.   
  
The Emperor turned toward Jade. "Mara Jade, my dear, everybody thinks that you   
will become a concubine. When you won't be training with young Vader, begin to   
create this illusion."  
  
"Yes, Master," she bowed too.  
  
"Excellent. And now, here is what you will learn."  
  
The myriad of images suddenly retreated in the background, then flashed in a   
bigger format one after another: new hand-to-hand combat techniques, shooting   
skills, flying skills, computer skills, languages, different jobs, spying, etc,   
etc.   
  
Even as the children silently absorbed the truth about their future, the Emperor   
smiled evilly in satisfaction; soon, the children would become deadly weapons   
which would be completely loyal to him, the boy included. No one would stand in   
their way, hence his. To achieve this though, he was aware that the children   
would be undergoing a much more demanding and rigorous training than the regular   
'Hand' training.   
  
He put an end to his happy musings and jabbed on a control with the Force. A   
map appeared on the screen.   
  
"This is where the training center is located," he informed them. "Nobody must   
see you go in, nor out." He felt an unspoken question in the children's minds.   
"Your trainers are handpicked for their absolute trustworthiness; they won't   
reveal your secret to anyone."  
  
And indeed, he reflected meanly, they wouldn't. He himself had manipulated   
their brains so that they couldn't remember the identity of their wards, only   
their numbers. The Force truly was a useful tool, he snickered smugly.  
  
"Do you have any questions?" he asked the children.  
  
They shook their heads in negative.   
  
"Good." He tossed them each a small reader disc. "You will have a test on the   
content of this discs in two days. As you already both know," he warned them   
coldly, "failure is punished." The two children swallowed hard as they   
understood the meaning of punishment. "Go now and do not disappoint me. Your   
trainers are waiting for you."   
  
"Yes, Master," the two children said in unison, then stood to their feet.  
  
A secret door opened in the wall behind them. Luke and Mara exited the room;   
the Emperor began monitoring them while they underwent their first test.  
  
  
  
  
Once in the corridor, Luke turned toward his friend.   
  
"Do you know those corridors?" he asked her.   
  
"No," she answered. "You?"  
  
"No," he shook his head.  
  
They exchanged a look of confusion and worry, then an idea came to Luke. He   
closed his eyes, focused his mind and searched a lead through the Force.  
  
"That way," he indicated with his index even as he began to walk in the said   
direction.   
  
"How do you know?" his friend asked him.  
  
"I'm using the Force. Come on, I don't want to be late."  
  
He set off at a fast run; Mara was right on his heels.   
  
Following the Force, they made their way out of the inner maze of the Imperial   
Palace in less than half an hour.   
  
Once outside, Mara guided him to abandoned alleys on the lower levels of the   
City where they continued their secret run.  
  
  
  
  
Fifteen minutes later, they were inside the training center. Their master   
startled them by speaking to them through the Force; they hadn't even thought   
that he had followed their progress in the city.  
  
*Good work, young ones. You've succeeded your first test,* he praised them.  
  
*Thank you, Master.* they both sent despite their utter shock.   
  
The contact broke; both kids relaxed from their surprise, then exchanged a wry   
look.   
  
"Guess we make a great team, huh?" Luke suggested.   
  
"That must be why he matched us together," Mara agreed.   
  
They walked away from the door. Once again, Luke used the Force to figure out   
where they were supposed to report. They entered a room with many computers.  
  
"Right on time," a man commented from the corner in their backs.   
  
The two children turned around, startled once again.   
  
"Sit down," the man told them, getting straight to business.  
  
Like their master, Luke reflected, this one wasn't much for formalities,   
preferring the straight-to-the-point approach. Luke and Mara both sat in front   
of a station.   
  
"Let's see what you can do. Find the file numbered 83629."  
  
The first search was easy and both found the said file, but as time passed, the   
searches became more complex until they had to hack their way into the system.   
  
Throughout the next hours, they learnt the basics of hacking skills.   
  
  
  
  
Next, another trainer came inside the room and exposed the scenario of a   
possible mission, then she told them to plan how they'd disappear in the   
environment.   
  
It took them two hours to give her a satisfactory answer.  
  
After this, they reported in a simulator room where a flight instructor taught   
them the basics of flying techniques. Both children caught up quite fast on   
them. Since they were proving to be skilled, they were then let loose against   
one another, pushing each other to the limits of their rudimentary skills.   
  
Finally, after a light meal, they began to learn alternate basic, the other,   
most frequently spoken language in the universe.   
  
******  
  
Ten hours after their arrival at the training center, the children prepared to   
return to their respective places. Before they did though, they took a moment   
to rest in their newly assigned locker room and secret exit.   
  
Luke yawned and stretched his sore shoulders.   
  
"Do you feel as tired as I do?" he asked his friend.  
  
"Probably," she half-whispered, rubbing her temples. "My brain feels like a   
constantly buzzing engine."   
  
"Yeah, that was a lot of things in a short time," he agreed tiredly.  
  
"I'm used to learn one thing at the time," she nodded slightly before she sought   
his eyes.  
  
"Me too," he agreed in reassurance.   
  
Just like the Emperor's teachers had taught several things to Mara, his own   
father had pushed him to his limits while he had been training him, but neither   
of them had ever faced lessons that had been 'as' demanding as the ones they had   
had today. Instead of working on one limit at a time, the teachers here were   
pushing them against all their limits at the same time.  
  
Hence, whereas he had begun to feel competent with his father, he felt quite   
disappointed from his first day as a servant of the Emperor. Disappointed for   
not pleasing the ruler... and exhausted, he thought as he yawned again. And to   
think that the day wasn't over yet...  
  
"Will you study the master's disc tonight?" he asked her.  
  
"Don't have much choice," she pointed out seriously.  
  
"No..." he yawned yet again. "but Father wanted to continue my training," he   
reflected out loud. Yep, he reminded himself, he wasn't done yet... "What time   
is it?" he asked her.   
  
"Twenty hundred," his friend answered, checking her watch.  
  
Despite his already proven stamina, Luke grunted as he realized that he was in   
for a long evening. Then he caught his thoughts and berated himself for   
complaining about his schedule. Whining served no purpose except wasting time   
and displeasing the Emperor, he reminded himself. Nothing else mattered for him   
now; if he pleased him, he would be able to help his father.  
  
"Okay then, let's get going. I want to sleep before tomorrow morning," he   
commented as he stood up.  
  
Mara followed his lead.  
  
  
  
Their way back home was as easy as their trek to the center had been.   
  
*See you tomorrow,* Luke sent her.  
  
*We'll meet here at 0600?* she asked him.  
  
*Yes. Good evening.*  
  
*You too.*  
  
He resumed his quick run toward his father's palace. He knew exactly where he   
could enter it without being spotted by anybody.   
  
  
  
The moment he stepped inside the castle's upper corridors, his father contacted   
him.   
*Welcome back, Son. Meet me in the training room,* he told him coolly.  
  
*I'll be right there,* Luke answered, restraining his tiredness from creeping   
into his mind.  
  
He rode the lift up to the training room's floor. While he did so, he fished   
out the disc that his new master, but not slaver, had given him. He wondered   
what information had been stored on it. The door of the lift opened. He   
stepped forward and hurried to reach the training room where his father was   
waiting for him.   
  
"How was your first day?" his father asked him as he walked in the room.  
  
"It's mind buzzing," he commented tiredly, "but fun," he added with a genuine   
smile.  
  
And it was, he reflected. He liked to learn all those things. He only wished   
he were already excellent at them.  
  
"They worked on your intellectual skills," his father surmised with a nod of his   
head. "We'll work on a physical aspect then."  
  
"Fencing?" Luke asked eagerly.   
  
Now there was a fun prospect. He was always ready to fence against his father,   
no matter how tired he was. His father tossed him a lightsaber; he neatly   
caught it in his small hand.  
  
"Yes," he confirmed.  
  
Behind the dark lord, two remotes floated into a ready position. Luke swallowed   
in nervousness, becoming aware that the level of difficulty would be up yet   
another level tonight.   
He took a second to put his data disc where nothing bad could happen to it, then   
prepared himself for a demanding exercise. He set his small feet in a ready   
stance and turned on his blade ; his father and the remotes swiftly came down on   
him.   
  
Luke, already deep in touch with the Force, followed its guidance and jumped   
away from the triple assault, landed behind his 'attackers' and slashed one   
remote into pieces. His father's blade came down onto him; he shifted his   
blade to present its longer side and blocked him again, and again. Then, his   
feet moved by themselves, making him jump and hit his father in the groin.   
  
Luke was shocked by what he'd just done, but he had no time to dwell on it. The   
remaining remote came at him, firing wildly. Ignoring his mental fatigue, he   
shifted into a series of quick blocks, jumped away from his father's approaching   
blade and took care of the other remote while airborn; the tip of his blade   
grazed the remote, incapacitating its circuits. It fell down on the floor,   
dead.   
  
Meanwhile, Luke landed back on the floor and met his father's renewed attacks.   
Unlike the other times, he finally understood that the dark lord wasn't holding   
back, pushing him to his limits. Despite his young age and small body, Luke   
Vader was able to hold his ground without much problem.   
  
  
  
About forty minutes after the beginning of the exercise, he and his father were   
yet again locked in a stalemate. Then, the older Vader managed to hook his   
weapon around his son's and twist it out of his small hands. Without wasting   
time, the young boy used the dark lord's less balanced stance, dropped low and   
knocked him off his feet.   
  
His father landed hard on his back; Luke drew the red-bladed lightsaber to his   
hand--- and became aware of what he had just done.   
  
He could barely believe that he had just beaten his father.   
  
He dropped the captured weapon and knelt by his side.   
  
"Father! Are you okay? I'm sorry, I---" he stuttered.   
  
The older Vader shook his head as he propped himself on his elbows.   
  
"I'm fine, Son. Don't worry," he reassured him.  
  
"I'm sorry, I don't know why I did that. I didn't mean to hurt you. I---" he   
apologized profusely.  
  
His father sat up and rested his hand on his son's shoulder.   
  
"It's all right, Luke. You did this because you had to. You are a great sword   
fighter, Son," he commented, pride clearly audible in his modulated voice.  
  
"Thanks," Luke blushed. "But I---"  
  
"I think you're ready to build your own lightsaber now," his father told him in   
a more serious voice.  
  
It shocked the boy still.   
  
"B-B-build? You mean?---"  
  
"You have completed the training, Luke. You are a Dark Jedi now," he   
congratulated him.  
  
"But--- but--- but I'm too young!" he finally managed in disbelief.   
  
"You are the strongest," his father corrected.   
"Strongest?" he gaped. Him? "Does the Emperor know?"  
  
"Yes, and he agrees with me. You are a Dark Jedi now. This was your last   
test," his father informed him.  
  
Luke was speechless now. Him, a Dark Jedi... Incredible!   
  
He smiled proudly. "I did it!"  
  
Vader proudly ruffled his hair. "Yes, you did it, Son. Congratulations.   
Do you have any idea as to how you'll build your lightsaber?" he inquired with   
interest.  
  
"Yes," he nodded enthusiastically.   
  
He had thought about that moment for the best part of the past year. He knew   
exactly what he wanted.   
  
"You may start whenever you're ready then," his father told him.  
  
"Thank you, Father," he smiled kindly.  
  
"Now, I think you have some studying to do, right?" he reminded him.  
  
"Oh Yes, I almost forgot!" he blushed in shame.  
  
"Then what are you waiting for? Get to it," he told him lightly.  
  
"Okay," Luke nodded earnestly.  
  
He stood up, picked his disc from the remote's shelf, then left the room, but   
not without a last look at his father who had stood up.   
  
He was like him now, he smiled silently.   
  
He headed for his room where he'd be able to study his master's disk.   
  
  
  
Five minutes later, he stepped inside his room, kicked off his shoes while   
calling a datapad to his hand, then flopped down on his bed and loaded the disk.   
He gaped as he saw the directory: secret passages and safe, unknown places of   
the palace and Coruscant in general.   
  
He scrolled down the list and read all the subcategories--- as he had learned to   
do during the day; he quickly discovered that he was about to learn about all   
the possible nooks and crannies which could be found on the whole planet called   
Coruscant.   
  
He began to read and memorize the data concerning his master's palace.   
  
  
  
Hours later, Lord Vader shut his computer down for the night. Those cursed   
remaining Jedi outlaws were becoming a real nuisance. He would have no choice   
but to hunt them down by himself now.   
  
He walked back to his quarters for a last night on Coruscant for a while. On   
his way to his rooms, he stopped by his son's. The light was still shining from   
under the old-fashioned door, but when he opened it, he saw that it wasn't   
useful to anybody anymore.   
  
His son was slumped on his bed, deeply asleep, his pad still clutched in his   
hand. He was utterly exhausted, he smiled softly. Careful to not wake him up,   
Vader gently pried the pad from his hand, then delicately helped him under his   
blankets.   
  
"Hmm, no, not there... better there," the boy mumbled in his sleep.   
  
'Probably planning for some future mission,' Vader thought wryly.   
  
He brushed the sandy-brown hair from his son's forehead, remembering the last   
time he had done so. It had been before he had freed him, before he had told   
him the truth. He looked around himself and scolded like he always did when he   
was in his son's room.   
  
It wasn't a room worthy of his boy; it was a room meant for a lowly servant,   
not for a future servant of the Emperor. The furniture was simple, sparse: a   
desk, a chair, a computer and a bed. His son who had never known better than   
that didn't complain, but he himself wasn't satisfied.   
  
When his son wouldn't need to retain his 'slave' mask, he promised himself, he   
would give him quarters that would be worthy of him, of his heritage and his   
powers.   
  
It would be worthy of a Dark Jedi and second-in-command in the Empire.   
Especially now that he had completed the first, major step of the Emperor's   
requirements. He surmised that pleasing him wouldn't be difficult for Luke once   
he completed the training.  
  
As he remained with his son, he smiled again at the thought of his son's latest   
accomplishment. While he himself despised losing in any way, he gladly admitted   
that his son had beaten him fairly, catching him completely by surprise with his   
well-placed kick.  
  
He had earned his title of youngest Dark Jedi ever.  
  
He was also glad that the test was over and done with though. He hadn't   
particularly cared for the Emperor's idea regarding the final test for Luke.   
When he had mentioned the possibility that the boy might get hurt or even killed   
in the process, his master had merely commented that he wouldn't if he were as   
strong as they thought he was.   
  
Hence, he had reluctantly obeyed his master and challenged the boy, but his son   
had risen to the challenge and had vanquished it... him. Despite the   
implications of such an event, he couldn't help but feel pride for the young   
boy; tonight, no resent was inhabiting his heart. And, most important of all,   
he thought in relief, they would not have to repeat that test ever again.  
  
He stroked the boy's hair one last time before leaving him alone for the night.   
  
"Good night, my little Jedi," he smiled under his mask.   
  
He was very proud of him. He rose to his full height and silently left the   
room. He turned off the light when he exited.   
  
******  
  
The following morning, Luke Vader woke up very early, starting slightly   
when he found himself in his bed. He remembered falling asleep on it, not in   
it.   
  
Careful to not wake his father up with his senses, he changed clothes, stuffed   
some training clothes in a duffel bag, caught some breakfast on his way out of   
his father's castle, then, after checking his surroundings, left for his   
rendezvous point. He wanted to make it on time.  
  
As he had expected, Mara was already there, waiting for him. As he ran past   
her, they didn't talk nor exchanged any thought; she fell in step beside him and   
together, they ran toward their secret destination, making sure that no one was   
saw them nor followed them.   
  
  
  
The first part of the day was pretty much like their previous day had been,   
except for one thing: the courses were fewer but longer. Then, after working on   
their computer, language and flying skills, they reported in a new room.  
  
The moment they stepped in, they became aware that it was a firing range room.   
They stood at attention in front of the registration desk.   
  
"I was expecting you two; come," their new teacher told them.   
  
Considering their previous day, neither child were surprised by the cool   
welcome. They had quickly deduced that their teachers were either nameless, or   
couldn't reveal their names. The man brought them close to a table on which   
rested many different kinds of weapons.   
  
"When I will be finished with you two, you will be able to use, clean,   
construct, deconstruct and even modify any of those weapons," he informed them   
seriously.  
  
He picked up two regular blasters and tossed them to the children. Both caught   
them without fumbling. Luke gazed down at the small blaster, and an image of   
the future filled his mind; he smiled as he 'saw' what he'd be able to do with   
it once his training would be over. The Emperor would indeed be pleased.   
  
He threw a look at his friend and smiled grimly. Her expression was matching   
his.   
  
"First," the teacher began, hefting his own blaster.   
  
The two young Jedis children focused their attention back on him, intent on   
learning everything they could from the man, just like they had resolved to do   
with all his other colleagues.   
  
  
  
Two hours later, they changed into their training clothes and began their more   
physically-oriented training with their assigned coach. For the following three   
hours, they rappelled up ropes, completed obstacles run in as little time as   
necessary, pitted their muscles against gravity in various ways, tried to outdo   
their previous scores in different exercises: in short, they tested and improved   
their self-defense skills as well as their general physical strength and their   
individual weaknesses.   
  
  
  
When the trainer finally released them, Luke felt ready to collapse from   
exhaustion. He laid back on the small bench of their locker room, wondering how   
he had made it back to their assigned room.   
  
"Thank the Force I don't have anymore training at home," he grunted tiredly.  
  
"No, just studying," Jade sighed.   
  
"How far are you?" he asked her as he pushed himself up to a sitting position.   
  
"I'm half done, but I can't remember everything."  
  
"Me either. I try to use the Force to remember. It helps, when I'm awake   
to use it," he shrugged lamely.  
  
"Did you fall asleep at your work table too?" she asked incredulously.  
  
"On my bed, but yeah. Do you have your disk with yourself?" he asked her.   
  
Jade pulled her bag to herself with the Force and dug in a side pocket. "Yeah,   
and a reader too."  
  
"Great!" he exclaimed. "Do you want to study with me? I mean before going back   
home?" he suggested.  
  
"Good idea." she agreed.   
  
She sat in front of him, straddling the narrow bench like he was doing, then   
loaded the disk and set her pad between them. Exchanging tips and clues, the   
two children spent the following three hours studying and memorizing their data.   
  
Luke guided Mara into how to use the Force to fixate her memory; she in turn   
gave him pieces of advice on how to remember without it.   
  
Once they were finished, they changed clothes, not caring if the other saw them   
in underwear or not, then they went back to their respective 'homes'.   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
When he entered his father's study, Luke instantly felt that something was   
wrong; his father's senses weren't as cool as usually.  
  
"What is it?" he asked him without detour.  
  
For a moment, his father silently gazed at him, then he stepped closer and   
crouched to be at his eye level.  
  
Uh-huh, Luke nodded to himself, his father had something very serious and   
unpleasant to tell him.  
  
"Bad news came in today, Son," he informed him seriously. "I have to return   
aboard the Executor, alone."  
  
Even though Luke had expected his father to be called back on duty sooner or   
later, he conceded that he hadn't expected him to be taken from him that soon.   
  
"What is going on?" he asked him even as he forced himself to nod in   
understanding.  
  
"Jedi anarchists," his father answered with a barely concealed snarl of disgust.  
  
Despite his new devotion to please the Emperor and 'earn' the right to leave   
again with his father, Luke couldn't help but take a step forward in   
volunteering, thus silently asking his father to take him with him.   
  
However, his father didn't need words or thoughts to understand him; he   
regretfully shook his head in answer. Luke pouted silently at that, aware that   
he wouldn't sway his father even though his heart literally screamed to be there   
when his father would vanquish the hated enemy which was even worse than   
criminal or rebel groups.  
  
  
  
Lord Vader gazed regretfully at his young son. He knew how he felt, he conceded   
to himself even as he rested a hand on the boy's shoulder and drew him closer to   
himself. Not so long ago, or so it seemed, he too had been driven against an   
enemy yet had been restrained by his teacher. However, he reminded himself,   
unlike Kenobi's attempts to limit 'his' powers, the Emperor was only teaching   
focus to the boy... and allowing him to develop his skills in record time so   
that he could, sooner than later, earn the right to fight with him.   
  
"I know how you feel, Luke," he comforted him. "and I know that you could   
probably help me, but your place, for the moment, is here," he reminded him more   
seriously.  
  
"I know, Father," the boy nodded sadly. "I don't want to disappoint the   
Emperor, but everything is their fault," he added with resent. "It's not just   
Kenobi, but the whole order. Without them, we wouldn't have been separated."  
  
"And that is why they will not survive for much longer," he reassured him.   
"There are only a few of them left now."  
  
"But what if you kill them all before I can join you?" the boy inquired   
grimly/glumly. "What will that make me?"  
  
"You will still be Lord Vader in time, Son," he promised him earnestly.   
"Killing them yourself or not is not important, as long as they are all gone and   
that the galaxy is free from their corruption."  
  
The child remained silent for a moment, then finally nodded.  
  
"I suppose so," he pouted slightly, lowering his chin to his chest.  
  
While his son could hold conversations which normally weren't possible with a   
child of his age, Vader couldn't help but smile to himself as the boy proved him   
yet again that he wasn't 'that' mature either. Gently, he brought his index   
under the child's chin and made him look back up at him.  
  
"It is so, Luke, trust me," he told him seriously. "For the moment, the only   
thing that matters for 'you' is to train and please the Emperor. Everything   
else must become secondary if you want to succeed and please him," he informed   
him, referring to his own experience with the ruler.  
  
"Even you?" the child asked in reluctant understanding.   
  
"Even me," Vader nodded, "especially when I will be away on missions," he added   
seriously, informing his son that this first mission would undoubtedly lead to   
several others. "Will you do it?" he inquired seriously.  
  
"I will do everything I have to do, Father," the young child promised him   
earnestly.  
  
"Good, then don't think about what I just told you and go study your plans for   
the test tomorrow," he instructed him gently, yet with finality. "'This' is   
what is important for the moment."   
  
"Okay," the child nodded, turned away to leave, then turned back toward him.   
"Don't leave before I see you tomorrow, please?" he asked him sadly.  
  
"I won't, I give you my word," his father promised solemnly as he stood back to   
his full height. "Now go and learn to please the Emperor," he told him   
seriously.  
  
His son nodded again in obedience, then exited the room, leaving him alone.  
  
'Learn to please the Emperor,' Vader mused his own words once he was alone, now   
there was an ambiguous yet absolutely true sentence. His son indeed had to   
learn new data in order to eventually please the Emperor and earn his rightful   
title, but, he reflected seriously, the child also had to get used to pleasing   
the ruler. While the Emperor hadn't mentioned anything to him about not being   
satisfied by the boy's attitude to put his father ahead of his new master, he   
suspected that he wouldn't tolerate it for much longer. In a week or two, he   
had the feeling that his son would reach the limit of the other's patience as   
far as respect and devotion went.   
  
He made a note to himself to contact his son's mind every night and drill into   
him the reflex to think of the Emperor first. While he didn't particularly   
relish the use of such tactics with his own son, he conceded that he had no   
other choice to insure his safety while he was away... especially since he   
didn't know how long he would be gone.  
  
******  
  
After a long night of studying and short sleep, Luke rose early, prepared   
himself for another day at the Emperor's training center, then went in search of   
his father.  
  
He found him on the landing platform where his shuttle was already primed and   
ready for departure. His father came inside to meet him, then closed the door,   
hiding them from the rest of the galaxy.  
  
For a fleeting moment, Luke wished once again that he could go with him, but, he   
sternly reminded himself, his training was more important to than his helping   
his father.   
  
He reluctantly accepted the separation as a proof of his and his father's   
loyalty to the Emperor.   
  
"You promise that you'll be careful?" he asked his father even though he knew   
that it was a lame request.   
  
Nothing nor nobody could hurt his father anyway.   
  
"I promise, Son. Be a good boy and do everything the master or his trainers   
tell you to do," he advised him, then added: "and only refer to him as 'Master'.   
It is his rightful title; respect him."  
  
Luke nodded in understanding, aware that his father was also reluctant to leave   
him alone. Since he didn't want to put him in trouble with the Emp--- their   
master, he forced himself to think, he tried to appear surer of himself than he   
felt at the moment.  
  
"I will, Father. Don't worry. I'll make you proud of me," he promised him   
seriously.  
  
Vader gently touched his son's cheek.   
  
"Luke, you already make me the proudest father in the universe," he commented   
warmly. "I have no doubt that you will continue to do so, for the Emperor now."  
  
"Yes, I will," he nodded once again.  
  
For a moment, Father and son gazed at each other in silence, then his father   
crouched and gently pulled him closer. "I will be eager to see your lightsaber   
when I return," he told him with a note of interest in his voice.  
  
"And I'll be eager to show it to you, Father," The young Jedi smiled sadly.   
  
When Vader moved his hand toward him, Luke took hold of it and held it in his   
smaller one. Through that touch, both father and son felt the other's   
disappointment and sadness at the separation, yet both knew that they could only   
accept it and go on with their duties.   
  
They had both known that it would happen sooner or later. They just wished that   
it could have happened later than sooner... They briefly hugged, then Luke   
pulled away and locked his gaze with his father's obscured one for a last time,   
before he turned to leave.   
  
"Good bye, Father. Be successful," he said simply, putting an end to those   
difficult, too difficult farewells.   
  
"Good bye, Son," his father answered as he straightened up again and nudged him   
toward the closest lift. "Make work the Emperor's will."  
  
The door in front of Luke opened; he left for his 'school'.  
  
  
  
'Be careful, my Son,' Vader thought to himself as he lost eye contact with his   
young boy.   
  
He was fairly convinced that his son wouldn't displease their master in any way,   
but since he was still a child, there was still a chance that it might happen,   
especially where the proper address and devotion was concerned.   
  
"May the Force be With You, my little dark Jedi," he whispered to the closed   
door, then turned around and headed for his own 'work': to hunt down Jedi   
Knights.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
When they arrived at the training center, the children's first assignment was to   
test their new knowledge against a computerized test. Each of them had to   
identify all the places that were pinpointed to them on their digital map and   
they both had to get a perfect score while doing it in as short a time as   
possible.   
  
Just before the test began, Luke briefly looked up at his friend and noticed her   
worried eyes ; she was as nervous as he was. They now knew that each wrong   
answer would be punished, something which they both wanted to avoid with all   
their hearts.   
  
They both decided that whatever happened, they would both give it all they had,   
not just here, but in all their courses.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
From that day on, the children spent most of their time at the training center,   
studying, learning, working together, doing everything they had to do to be   
perfect in everything, sometimes foregoing sleep if they had to. Whenever that   
happened, they used refreshing trances to rest before the next morning.   
  
  
  
The Emperor watched their progress from his palace, pleased with their results.   
As he had suspected, the children were not too young to begin their training.   
It had taken a vicious incentive to push them on their right cruise speed, but   
now that they were there, they were excellent in everything even though they   
were not aware of it. Since the trainers had orders to push them beyond their   
limits, the children were convinced they were never good enough to satisfy the   
criteria; new ones always added themselves to the ones they were working on,   
looking like normal to the children.   
  
Because of this, the children became even better than the older teenagers who  
were being trained in other parts of the center. They were also almost already   
better than some of his active agents, he reflected with glee. Only a few   
details remained and they would be ready for their first mission.  
  
He couldn't wait to see them at work, he smiled in dark contentment. At last,   
he would be rewarded for his tolerance of their normally forbidden friendship;   
he was now aware that it was a worthy sacrifice to get results such as those   
that the children were getting.   
  
Soon, he mused seriously, it would be time to plan in more details how he was   
going to use those perfect tools. With young Vader as a full-fledged Dark Jedi   
already and young Jade having reached the limits of her 'potential', he had some   
serious thinking to do, especially to keep the boy at a stalemate. Now that he   
had him in his ranks and his powers, he didn't want to give him 'back' to his   
father that easily, if ever.  
  
Reaching a new decision, he sent instructions to the children's different   
trainers, ordering them to push their limits yet again.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Continued in part 5: Progresses 


	5. Part 5: Progresses

Luke Vader: From Slave to Dark Lord of the Sith  
Part 5: progresses  
By SJ 24-07-00/23-10-00 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: None of this belong to me; everything in the Star Wars Universe   
belongs to George Lucas.   
See my home page for more details.   
Http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
  
____________________  
  
  
  
  
  
Three months later, the children were still excellent in everything they learnt,   
and the boy had completed his transition from his former master to his new one   
without any new incentive.   
  
At the moment, the youngsters were working on their flying skills.  
  
Mara and Luke checked the status of their fighters and waited for the signal to   
start the simulation.  
  
"You'll buy the juice this time, Vader," Mara said in her mike.   
  
"Hope you've got enough money, Jade. I'm thirsty," he bantered back.   
  
The signal came on. Faster than light, both of them flipped out of each other's   
tracking sight and set about chasing the other.   
  
  
  
Outside the simulators, their piloting teacher surveyed his wards. The boy's   
blue dot easily slid out of the way of the girl's green dot's aiming range, then   
settled himself behind her. She barely avoided his blasts, but didn't let him   
win this easily.   
  
  
  
  
Luke twisted his stick hard to the left, quickly following her. The moment he   
felt the connection through the Force, he fired---- and hit her. However, since   
she too was using the Force, she didn't remain in his aim for long. Instead,   
she inverted her propulsion and tried to make him overshoot her, but, feeling   
her intent, he pulled his stick toward himself, corkscrewed above her and came   
back again behind her.   
  
Another hit.   
  
Then it was his turn to be hit thanks to her quick re-angling.   
  
And so it went.  
  
  
  
In the end, Luke won by two points. Their mikes re-activated; they were back   
on the same side.  
  
"How did you do that?" she asked, referring to his last drop-quick maneuver.   
  
"I'll show you," he promised her, stretching his small legs and arms in the   
tight confines of the cockpit.   
  
"Enough chat," their trainer cut in. "Ready for the second simulation?"  
  
"Yes, Sir," they both answered seriously; Luke resumed his grip on his controls.   
  
The enemies came upon them in a flurry. Both kids twisted out of harm's way and   
regrouped above the hornet of fighters.   
  
"I'm on the one on the right," Jade told him.   
"I'll cover you," Luke answered, firing at a new x-wing fighter which came into   
his fighting range.   
  
Despite the new, supposedly better balanced design, Luke reflected that the new   
type of fighter was as easy a pick for the young dark Jedi as any other ship he   
had ever been tested against; only his best friend represented a true challenge   
for him, he thought seriously, then refocused on his 'mission'. Jade continued   
to track her own fleeing x-wing like a hunting vornsk; Luke shot any fighter   
that threatened her or himself.   
  
  
  
Fifteen minutes later, their 'mission' was over.   
  
"Great shooting!" Mara exclaimed as Luke saved her hide.   
  
"Thanks. How long this time?" he asked in his mike.   
  
"It's a new record. Let's lower it again," their teacher commented coolly.   
  
Their 'mission' began again, with more enemies this time.  
  
Luke and Mara showed off yet again.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
That night, unlike the rest of the week, Luke returned to his father's castle.   
They were done with their last battery of tests, and, he admitted to himself, he   
wanted to practice his lightsaber skills. After all, he smiled to himself, he   
hadn't built his own lightsaber to leave it on a shelf in his room.  
  
He hurried his pace.  
  
  
Two hours later, he was still batting off real blaster bolts when the remotes   
fell on the floor; their timer had reached the turn off time. He turned off   
his lightsaber, then took a deep breath; remembering his father's lessons, he   
closed his eyes and let his feelings flow through him. His anger and   
aggression, which were still directed at his 'opponents', made his blood sing in   
his ears while wiping off the tiredness from his system. He smiled as he   
enjoyed the feeling of being in perfect control of himself, his life, and even   
the world around him... then the energies returned to a more normal level and he   
was back to his cooler self.  
  
He reopened his eyes and gazed down at his newly constructed weapon. Well, he   
corrected, it was almost four months old now, but it was still new. He had made   
it adult size because he had decided to keep the same weapon for his whole life.   
The design looked like his father's, but with a ridged handle and a narrower   
tip. The blade was a brilliant, beautiful emerald green which reminded him his   
best friend's eyes.  
  
It was his lightsaber, he smiled proudly. It completed his arm, feeling like an   
extension of his body even when he was simply holding it like he was at the   
moment. His only disappointment, he admitted to himself, was that he couldn't   
carry it at his hip like he had the right to.  
  
A slave didn't carry any weapons, or so people thought, he smirked grimly. Ever   
since he had learned how to conceal weapons on himself, he always carried at  
a least two vibroblades and a small pocket blaster under his clothes.   
  
His friend Mara was now also armed the same way.   
  
Suddenly feeling like getting more exercise, he drew his small blaster, set its   
setting on low, then reactivated the remotes and turned his lightsaber back on.   
  
He fired at the remotes, hitting them every time he shot at them while his   
left hand deflected the bolts that came at him.  
  
*Impressive,* his father's voice suddenly said in his mind, startling him with   
pleasant joy.   
  
He instantly put an end to his exercise and reached out.   
  
*Father? You're back?!* he asked in disbelief.  
  
*Yes, I'm back. I will be home in less than an hour,* he informed him.  
  
Luke didn't need anymore explanation. He turned off the remotes, put his   
weapons away and ran out of his chosen training room to prepare for his father's   
return. He made sure that everything was fine in the castle, then ran again,   
this time toward his father's favorite landing platform.   
  
Once there, he scanned the night sky both with his eyes and senses.   
  
His father was back, he thought in elation. He had missed him so very much...   
Of course, he conceded, he might not have seen him much had he been on planet,   
but, he shrugged like only a child could do, he had still missed his nearby   
presence. Ever since he had met him, almost four years ago now, he had never   
been separated from his father for this long. He dimly hoped that his father   
would stay home for a while.  
  
He continued to scan the night sky.  
  
  
  
Twenty minutes later, his father's shuttle became visible to his eyes although   
its appearance didn't surprise him; he had been feeling his father's approaching   
presence for the past ten minutes. Delighted, he followed the little moving   
star as it made its way down to his location.  
  
The graceful bird eventually set down with little more than a rush of wind   
through his blond hair. He walked closer to welcome his 'master'; he bowed his   
head and waited. The moment that the exit ramp set on the landing platform, his   
father's strong, sorely missed presence and familiar sounds rushed in to invade   
his senses.   
  
"Welcome back, my Lord," Luke said, fighting past his overwhelming joy to play   
his role to perfection.   
  
"How were things while I was away," he asked coolly, with no warmth   
creeping in his voice.   
  
However, Luke wasn't worried; he could feel how his father's feeling matched his   
own. They both couldn't wait to find a private corner to stop the masquerade.  
He stepped behind his father's dark silhouette as he walked past him.   
  
"Everything is fine, Master. Nothing particular has happened," he informed him.  
  
"Good."  
  
They entered the castle proper; the moment that the door closed behind them, his   
father put an end to his acting and turned toward him even as he crouched to be   
at his height. Luke, unable to restrain himself any longer, stepped closer and   
wrapped his small arms around his father's neck. His helmet made it slightly   
awkward, but it didn't matter to the young boy. The only important thing was   
that he was reunited with his father; the strong arms held him tightly then   
lifted him off the floor when his father straightened up while carrying him.   
  
"I missed you so very much, my Son," the adult whispered in his hair, setting   
his large hand against his back, hugging him against himself.   
  
"Me too, Father," Luke answered earnestly. He leaned away from his shoulder.   
"How was your mission?" he asked in interest.  
  
"Some Jedis have disappeared again, but most of them won't bother us anymore,"   
he informed him.  
  
"Then you'll have to leave again?" Luke asked glumly while they walked toward   
his father's office.   
  
While his father seemed to ponder how to answer him, Luke noted that no matter   
how cold and efficient he was growing thanks to his training, it didn't seem to   
affect his relationship with his father. He admitted that he was glad for that.  
  
"Yes, but not for a while," his father finally explained seriously. "We will   
wait for the Jedi anarchists to reveal themselves before we strike again. And   
you? How are you doing with your training?" he asked with interest.  
  
"Well," the child took a moment to think, "I know I'm still not satisfying the   
Master's exigencies," he admitted in slight shame. "So's Mara."   
  
He dimly wondered how his father would react to his admission. Weaknesses   
weren't considered as normal in the imperial world...  
  
"How many times have you been punished?" his father asked him.   
  
  
  
  
He had known that it would happen, Vader reminded himself, especially   
considering how close the Emperor was keeping an eye on his son and how he   
himself had been unable to establish visual contact with the child during his   
long absence. He had tried to keep his promise to the boy and call him, but he   
had quickly discovered that he could only rely on his subconscious contacts to   
help him, and then only while he had been able to contact his son that way.   
  
Once he had been a hundred thousands parsecs away from the boy, he had realized   
that distance 'did' matter with the Force. He had known that his son was still   
alive, but hadn't been able to establish a more useful contact. Sighing in   
acceptance, he still thought that he would have preferred if he had been there   
when his son had displeased the Emperor.  
  
"It only happened once," Luke answered him, cutting in his thoughts and   
relieving him greatly with his words.  
  
Only once, so the boy hadn't displeased the Emperor after all, he sighed, this   
time in relief. It had probably been some kind of incentive which the ruler was   
fond of, then Luke had risen to the challenge and meet up with all the   
exigencies he had to complete. Truly glad that his brilliant son hadn't angered   
the Emperor while he had been left to his own device, he gazed back down at him-  
-- and noticed how obviously relieved the child was that he hadn't scolded him   
for the admission of his weakness.   
  
For a fleeting moment, he considered telling him that he was probably above the   
exigencies and was just being pushed to his limits, but his cooler self stopped   
him. The Emperor wouldn't appreciate his revealing his secret, he reminded   
himself. If the ruler hadn't told his plans to the boy, then it was because it   
served a purpose that even his own extensive experience with the ruler couldn't   
fathom.  
  
Luke continued to talk to him. "It hurt," he told him sadly, then brightened:   
"but I used the Force to heal myself so it didn't last for too long."  
  
The idea of his son being hurt again by anyone made Vader's blood boil in his   
veins, but he knew that it was part of his son's service to their master. Even   
his presence on planet wouldn't have changed anything to the situation, he   
reflected resignedly.   
  
"You haven't been punished again?" he demanded again, just to be sure.   
  
His son locked his young, serious gaze with his. "I'm fine, Father. I train   
with them like I trained with you."  
  
Diligently, Vader knew. And, talking about his Jedi training...  
  
"Have you had time to build your lightsaber?" he asked him as they walked into   
his office.   
  
The boy smiled proudly. "Yes."   
  
His father set him down; the boy reached in his back and pulled his saber from   
under his shirt.   
  
"Here it is," he continued to smile. "What do you think?"  
  
The dark lord took the handle from his small hand and studied its craftsmanship.   
His first thought was that it was astounding for a child of his son's age; no   
flaw could be seen in either the design or the construction of the weapon. He   
turned the blade on and tested it with a few, sure strokes in the air. Even the   
tuning was perfect. He smiled proudly when he realized that his son had built   
an even better lightsaber than any other he had ever seen... and he had seen   
many of them lately.  
  
Luke watched him in expectation. "So?" he prompted him.   
  
"Excellent work," he finally told him, giving him back the deactivated handle.   
"I'm surprised that you made it adult-sized though. Isn't it difficult for you   
to hold it correctly?" he inquired expertly.  
  
As if in reflex, his son hid his weapon back in his pants and under his shirt,   
hiding it from sight once again.   
  
'Probably a result of his spy training' his father reflected dimly, then   
reminded himself that soon, his boy wouldn't be just a child but an assassin as   
well. He wouldn't be the naive child he used to know, not even when he would   
talk since he suspected that the boy's speech pattern would soon begin to change   
thanks to his linguistic lessons. He knew that if the boy wanted to be an   
efficient spy, he had to learn to speak properly, no matter how young he was.  
  
The young boy smiled smugly at him, obviously unaware of the regret that was   
slowly settling in his heart.   
  
"No, it's not, and, I won't have to rebuild it when I'll be older," he pointed   
out seriously.   
  
"You're right," he nodded both in answer and to shoo away the fatherly feelings   
which weren't welcome in his heart. His son had to grow, sooner or later. In   
his case, it was sooner. "You've done an excellent job on it, Son. I'm proud   
of you." he said, trying to transfer his proud smile in his voice.   
  
It was a tough challenge, but his son seemed to understand how proud he truly   
was of him.   
  
"Thanks," he smiled hugely.   
  
"I have to check on a few things here," Vader told him almost regretfully. "I   
guess you have to get up early tomorrow morning?"   
  
"Yes," Luke admitted, "but I want to stay with you," he stated.  
  
"Are you sure?" the dark lord inquired seriously, himself having doubts that it   
would serve the child's interests to not recover from his long day of study.  
  
"Yes," he nodded decisively.   
  
"Very well," his father conceded, then raised his finger as if in warning: "But   
only if you tell me everything that happened to you since I left," he told him   
playfully.  
  
"Deal," Luke smiled up at his father.   
  
As they walked closer to his desk, Vader made a mental note that his son was   
indeed beginning to display verbal signs that his training was taking root in   
his personality. He sounded more mature than when he had last seen him.   
  
He was even beginning to use more complex verb tenses, something which could   
only come from the linguistic training he himself had been thinking about a few   
minutes earlier, he reflected as he rounded the corner of his desk. Luke   
followed him to his desk and sat on its corner while his father checked   
some files and reports.   
  
Throughout the next hours, he told him about all his different courses, his   
friend, his routine, his results.   
  
His father praised him for each one of his successes.   
  
Later on, Luke had no choice but to retire to his rooms and leave his father   
alone; his check ups turned out to take longer than he had initially thought.   
Even if he was loath to leave his father's side so soon, Luke knew that he   
really had to go to bed now. He had no doubt that he would have a   
tough day tomorrow.  
  
  
  
An hour later, Vader went into his son's room to tuck him in.   
  
How his son had changed since he had last seen him..., he reflected regretfully   
once again. He was now independent on several aspects, his survival being one   
of those things. He was also moving about in a much more discreet way, if that   
was possible, and he was thinking on a much more efficient level. He had always   
been intelligent, he conceded, but now, he was getting very clever; his ideas   
concerning the Jedi outlaws had been downright inspiring, he admitted proudly.   
His body was also slowly building up to face up with the physical requirements   
of his training; his shoulders were more square than he remembered them, and his   
biceps were beginning to show with each of his movements.  
  
He stepped inside the boy's room. The child was already asleep, tucked in under   
his blankets. He was hugging his pillow to himself, laying more on his chest   
than on his side. He had left his light on yet again, Vader smiled ruefully.   
He had probably wanted to remain awake until he would come in to see him. He   
dimly wondered if his now maturing son would appreciate to be tucked in anymore.   
After all, he conceded sadly, Luke had spent the last five months without any   
childish attentions and had fared well. But on the other hand, he thought   
hopefully, he still demonstrated his love for his attentions.   
  
He slowly sat down on the soft mattress; his son shifted slightly, muttering   
something unintelligible to his pillow. Despite his rigorous training, Vader   
thought in slight relief, his son was still just a child.   
  
Just a child... he thought more grimly when he spotted the new marks on his   
son's small back. He had done a great job healing them with the Force, but the   
traces still remained... He could have done well without any new marks, he   
thought darkly.   
  
For the briefest of moments, he wished he could convince the Emperor to never  
hurt him again, but he knew that he couldn't. His son was the Emperor's   
servant, just like himself was, and as such, the Emperor could do whatever he   
deemed necessary for their improvements. Moreover, he reminded himself, if he   
argued, he might just cause more injuries to his son.   
  
With a last physical and mental caress, he left the sleeping young spy-in-  
training, wishing him a restful night. When he got up, his foot generated a   
clicking sound on the floor; he gazed down and noticed for the first time the   
array of weapons that were scattered on the floor at the head of the bed.   
  
Vader shook his head in bittersweet amusement.  
  
Yes, his son had changed a lot...  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
To Luke's greatest pleasure, his father remained on Coruscant for almost three   
weeks before he had to leave again. Even though he himself was often confined   
to the training center while his father spent a lot of time in the Emperor's   
palace, they always managed to spend a few hours together every day. When his   
father was working in his office, he himself contented himself by being with   
him, studying his new lessons while his father worked, but when they had some   
free time, they either fenced together or challenged each other via exercises   
with the remotes, or else they spent their evenings star gazing.   
  
The more he spent time with his father, the more Luke understood how great he   
was; he already knew that, of course, but his training was giving him a new   
range of sight, enabling him to know his father for who he was. He truly was   
the greatest man and Jedi in the galaxy. He himself was proud to be Vader's son   
and could only dream of the day when he would be able to publicly claim his last   
name.   
  
As he watched his shuttle climb up for altitude, three weeks later, he dimly   
wondered if he'd ever measure up to his father.   
  
He hoped he would.  
  
******  
  
  
  
As his training continued, Luke finally realized that his trainers were giving   
him all the tools he needed to some day be as great as his father was; he   
redoubled his already admirable work. The fact that he was improving pushed his   
friend to improve herself because she couldn't accept being less good than he   
was.   
  
And so it went for the following ten months.  
  
  
  
  
'He would certainly not beat her today.', Mara resolved as she circled her   
friend even as he circled her.  
  
They were both drenched with sweat, their lithe bodies were beginning to show   
signs of tiredness, but both of them were too proud to step down until one of   
them had managed to mark the first and final point in their duel.   
  
Mara studied him yet again, looking for a place to strike. His legs were too   
well camped on the floor to attempt anything, and his chest moved too fast to   
try a hit there. No, his only weakness, if it could be called a weakness, she   
conceded, were his arms. If she could be faster than him, she would win. She   
took a quick step and chained up a series of hits and slashes with her hands   
and fists, which he blocked, then she felt an opening and struck while he   
switched to the offensive.   
  
Her flat hands connected with his chest even as his leg swept her aside.   
  
They both fell to the hard floor, trying to recover their breaths.   
  
"That will be enough for today, children. I think you both proved how   
unbeatable you are," their supervisor told them. "Go home."  
  
Luke sat up, obviously tempted to argue, then he met her eyes and saw that there   
was no point arguing to let them finish. They were both exhausted.   
  
"Yes, Sir," they both nodded, bowing their heads in acceptance.   
  
  
  
  
Five minutes later, the ten-year-old children slumped either on the floor or the   
bench of their locker room.   
  
Luke reflected that it was becoming somewhat of a routine at the end of the day.   
He looked at his friend and studied her for lack of anything else to do while   
resting.  
  
She was wearing a tank top, just like himself, and like himself, her building   
muscles were now showing through her skin whenever she moved even slightly.   
Both were quite muscled for ten-and-a-half years old children. In fact,   
considering the data they had studied about regular children, he 'knew' that   
they were much more athletic looking then the average child; they also knew many   
more things than their fellow youngsters did. Luke couldn't help but feel   
privileged by the differences. He knew his life was much different from that of   
any other child, except for his friend's, but he didn't mind in the least.   
  
No, he reflected quite happily, he didn't mind the hard work, the more demanding   
programs and the more individualistic environment. Some day, he would earn the   
right to serve the Emperor like his father did, he knew it. But for the moment,   
he would simply prove that he had reached the level he was suppose to have   
completed.   
  
"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" he asked his friend.   
  
She opened her green eyes and looked at him.   
  
"You mean the mission?" she inquired seriously.  
  
"Yes. Do you feel ready to face adults?" he asked her more specifically.  
  
"Yes and no," she admitted. "I know I can defeat them if I have to..., but I   
still feel too small to take on them face to face," she admitted hesitantly.  
  
"Me too," Luke admitted.   
  
Fencing against his father was one thing, but fighting against adults to kill   
them was something else altogether. The targeted adults were going to be much   
taller than his friend/training partner.  
  
"At what time do you want to begin our planning tomorrow?" he asked her.   
  
"Same as usual?" she suggested.   
  
"Excellent. I'll ask Father what he knows about the target. Perhaps he'll give   
me a tip or two," he commented as he rubbed his aching arm.  
  
"Are you sure you can talk to him about this?" she inquired as she sat up.  
  
He shrugged. "I don't see why not; Father is the second in command of the   
Emperor and he knows about you and me. How could it be problematic?" he asked   
her seriously.  
  
Mara remained silent, pressing her lips together in concentration.   
  
"You're right," she finally agreed. "It doesn't matter if he knows about the   
mission. When does he resume his hunting?" she asked him, standing up and   
opening her locker.   
  
Understanding that she was getting ready to leave, Luke pushed himself back to   
his feet and stood at the end of the arrayed lockers.   
"In a few days," he answered her. "He told me that he's found the Jedis'   
location and is waiting for a few last details to be settled before he leaves   
again."  
  
When she began to change, he crossed to the other side of the lockers and opened   
his own, shedding his sweaty clothes. By common agreement, they had decided to   
put some kind of screen between themselves since they now regularly had to strip   
of all their dirty clothes at the end of the day. When every bit of clothe was   
discarded, both set about putting on fresh clothes.  
  
"Say, how is your concubine training going?" he asked her as he put on a fresh   
pair of underwear.  
  
  
  
Mara sighed before pulling her shirt over her slender, small shoulders and   
chest.   
  
"It's not as bad as I thought," she admitted, "but I don't know if I'll ever   
understand how to twist my hair the way they want it to be. It always falls   
from its perch," she pouted in annoyance.  
  
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find a trick." Her friend told her lightly from   
his side of the lockers.   
  
Like she always did, she knew, but she always wanted to succeed as quickly as   
possible too. Her hair was giving her a very hard time. It was long, yes, but   
it was also thin which meant that it didn't hold in place for a long time. She   
preferred to simply braid it or to even wear it loose. However, Illa, her   
assigned supervisor, had told her that it wasn't proper wear in the Emperor's   
court.   
  
She said, she reminded herself yet again, that a man should only see a woman's   
hair loose when she was going to make love to him within the next minute. Well,   
she thought yet again, Luke had seen her that way many times, and she had   
never made love to him.  
  
She wouldn't want to either, yuck! They were just best friends and partners,   
nothing more.   
  
"Ready to go?" he asked her, pulling her out of her thoughts.   
  
She heard a panel closing; she understood that he had dropped his dirty clothes   
in the laundry bin.   
  
"Almost."  
  
She hurried to put on her trousers and shoes, closed her locker and gathered her   
clothes in her arms. When she crossed on his side of the room, she noticed that   
he was Vader's slave boy once more, wearing drab, black clothes. He looked very   
different in them than when he was training with her... she wondered how he'd   
look with his hair dyed.   
  
She put an end to her musing and threw her clothes in the washing bin, then   
turned back toward her friend.  
  
"Let's go." he answered her unspoken comment, settling his bag on his shoulders.   
  
"We've got a long evening in front of us," she nodded in agreement.   
  
For the first time, they had some planning to do.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
When Luke returned home, his father was also back from a very demanding day and   
was quietly meditating in one of the inner garden of the palace.   
  
"Tomorrow is the big day?" he asked him as he stepped closer to his sitting   
form.  
  
"Yes," he answered, sitting down beside him and mimicking his cross-legged   
position.   
  
"How are you feeling about this?" his father inquired, his stance relaxing; Luke   
understood that he had completely exited his meditation trance.   
  
"I'm a little nervous, Father," he admitted, aware that he was revealing one of   
his weaknesses yet he knew that his father didn't mind about them like the   
Emperor did. Instead, it helped him to help him out.  
  
"You will do just fine, Son," his father reassured him, settling his hand over   
his left land on his lap. "The ambassador's bodyguards will never suspect   
children from representing any danger," he reminded him, "and you and Mara are   
very well trained for something like this."  
  
"Well being a servant won't be hard," he conceded with a slight smirk. "I do   
get a lot of practice for that kind of acting."  
  
"Yes," his father nodded, then added: "unfortunately... Speaking of which," he   
commented more loudly, "I spoke with the Emperor today."  
  
"And?" Luke asked, his interest piqued. "What did he say? Can I go with you   
next time? Can I help you?"  
  
"Unfortunately not, Son, I'm sorry," his father shook his head in answer.   
"While the Emperor is aware of your progresses, he still isn't pleased by your   
impulsive reactions. They could be your undoing against seasoned enemies."  
  
While young Luke knew that his father and master were right, he couldn't help   
but feel very disappointed to not obtain even one permission to prove himself.   
He had almost completed the training, or so he felt, and he was already a dark   
Jedi, acknowledged by the Emperor and all. Deep down, he 'knew' that he would   
be able to defeat a Jedi. As if sensing his resent, his father brought his hand   
under his lowered chin and made him look at him.  
  
"Luke, do not entertain improper thoughts," he counseled wisely. "The Emperor   
has promised me that he would give you the chance to prove yourself, but for the   
moment, he prefers to keep you here where you are safe. We don't want to lose   
you because we underestimated the enemy, Son," he told him warmly.  
  
Yes, Luke nodded reluctantly, he understood that. It was a lesson he himself   
was learning every day; he couldn't afford to underestimate his foes, no matter   
how strong and skilled he himself was. They could always find a way to surprise   
him.   
  
"I'm sorry, Father," he apologized for his brief resent. "I guess I'm not   
mature enough to be a good servant, huh?" he asked him, locking his piercing   
blue eyes on his father's hidden ones.  
  
"Give yourself more time, Son. You are still but a child, if a powerful one,"   
his father commented with a sending of his pride even as he shifted his touch to   
caress his left cheek. "Sooner than you think, you will become an active   
servant and you'll be given several occasions to prove your worth in the   
Emperor's higher ranks, at my side."  
  
"I understand, Father," Luke nodded, briefly closed his eyes to recover his   
cooler attitude and not let his disappointment cloud his judgment, then he re-  
opened them. "Speaking about a mission, I was wondering if you had more   
information than I do about the Baron from Manale."  
  
"What do you need to know?" his father offered him.  
  
"Do you know if he leaves servants 'in' his quarters when he isn't there?" he   
asked him seriously.  
  
"Not that I know of," the adult answered him seriously. "But there is a way to   
be certain of this information."  
  
"Which one?" the child inquired with interest.  
  
"Meditation," was his father's answer even as he gently pulled him until he was   
sitting in front of him, then offered him his hands. "I will guide you for your   
first time," he informed him.  
  
Luke, who still hadn't recovered from his shock at what his father was offering   
him, followed his lead as they first joined as one mind, then as they scanned   
the Force for the present, the future... and information.  
  
By the time they were done, they even knew that the children would succeed in   
their first mission.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
The next day, Luke and Mara used the resources of the training center to prepare   
their first mission for their Emperor, using Luke's insight to foresee problems.  
They first used Luke's and his father's meditation results to evaluate their   
approach, then they researched their target's habits and other data, selected a   
way to accomplish their two goals without compromising themselves and, until the   
last possible minute, double-checked their plan with the characteristics of the   
security that would be in place in the palace.   
  
Then, it was time to set their plan in motion.  
  
  
  
******  
  
TBC in part 6: First missions  
  
(skyjade@globetrotter.net) 


	6. Part 6: First missions

Luke Vader: From Slave to Dark Lord of the Sith  
Part 6: First Missions  
By SJ 24-07-00/23-10-00  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: None of this belong to me; everything in the Star Wars Universe   
belongs to George Lucas.   
See my home page for more details.   
Http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
  
  
  
  
That evening, Luke, now black-haired, assumed his role of servant with the other   
boys which his master had selected for his reception. Almost an hour after his   
own arrival, Baron Tsui of Manale arrived with his retinue.  
  
*Mara, he's just arrived,* he sent to his friend.  
  
*I'm in position but I have to wait for the guard's shift; it should take place   
in one hour,* she informed him shortly.  
  
*Okay, let me know when you are done,* he told her seriously.  
  
*Will do. Jade out,* she sent, then reintegrated her full senses.   
  
Luke for his part picked up another platter of canapés and resumed offering them   
to his master's guests as he toured the room. While he fulfilled his role of   
servant, his senses never lost track of his target, then three platters later,   
he finally came around his target's group to offer them his food.   
  
The adults practically ignored him as they served himself, and paid even less   
attention to him when he left them. Thus, his target never noticed the small   
bug that he left in the folds of his jacket. With both his senses and the bug,   
Luke knew that he wouldn't lose track of him now. He brought his platter, in   
the servant's ready room, then took a moment in the 'fresher to activate the   
tracking device which was hidden in his large, metal bracelet. The other boys   
also wore such a bracelet-cuff to allow 'him' to camouflage his own device. The   
moment that he rested his finger on the activation zone, the target appeared on   
the small screen. Luke removed his left finger from the print reader and the   
image disappeared; the gadget looked once more like the 'cuff' it was supposed   
to be. Before he returned to his duties, he took a moment to double-check that   
his other weapon was still secured under his shirt.  
  
Everything was perfect.  
  
He resumed his serving duties.   
  
  
  
  
An hour later, Mara crept toward the apartment of the baron; she began to hack,   
intent to gain access inside the quarters before new guards' could return for   
the shift room. Using the Force as her friend had taught her to do, she opened   
the door and slipped inside the baron's quarters.  
  
The door had barely finished closing when she felt the return of the guards at   
the door. It had been close, she thought to herself as she took a moment to   
survey her surroundings. Her friend had indeed been right, she realized; no one   
was left 'inside' the quarters. Without wasting time, she went into the Baron's   
office, found his computer and turned it on. Her mission was to find his files   
concerning a new secret weapon that his government hadn't given to the Emperor   
because they hoped to use it against him.  
  
Under her veil, Mara smiled grimly. Tonight, she resolved, Manale would learn   
to not cross their master. She set her gloved hands on the keypad and began to   
call for directories and protected files. She mentally sneered as she   
discovered how amateur the encryption of the files was. She broke into them in   
record time and cut them out of the computer and onto her reader disk.   
  
Next, she set a bomb in the office, sitting it next to the computer, then   
programmed it to give herself two minutes. The baron's quarters would be such a   
mess, she thought in approval of her friend, that Security would never be able   
to figure exactly what had happened. Luke's idea truly was excellent, she   
admitted even as she made her way back to the door.  
  
Ten seconds from the explosion, she closed the door on her skillfully   
dispatched, first victims, and ran as fast as she could toward the closest   
entrance of the secret corridors.   
  
Behind her, the deserted level was eerily quiet.   
  
But it didn't last. The bomb went off in a cacophony of loud noises. She   
closed the secret entrance behind herself, took a moment to remove her shroud   
and catch her breath, then she contacted her friend.  
  
*It's done.*  
  
  
  
  
Luke heard her message and mentally nodded in understanding. While he picked up   
another platter of food, he drew the small poisoned dart from his shirt and hid   
it under his silver plate. Then, he checked once again the location of his   
target was; he had just returned from a walk in the surrounding garden. Luke   
made his way toward the groups that were as far from the man as possible,   
levitated his dart above the crowd until it was above his target, lowered it   
until he was in good position, then propelled it toward his target.   
  
While the adults around Luke served themselves, the baron began to choke for   
breath on the other side of the room; five seconds later, the man's companions   
expressed their horror when he collapsed on the richly tiled floor, alarming   
everyone present that something had happened. The ensuing commotion was such   
that many guests instantly ran out of the room in panic. Having recovered his   
full senses, Luke did his best to avoid being trampled while not making a mess   
of his glasses of champagne, just like every other servant who was in the room   
was attempting to do.   
  
When he disentangled himself from the throng of frantic guests, he found refuge   
behind the table with the rest of his 'team'. From there, he grimly surveyed   
his handiwork.   
  
Baron Tsui of Manale was dead; he himself knew that the dart had already   
dissolved, making it look like an unexplainable death. Stormtroopers showed up   
less than two minutes after the panic had begun and blocked the issues,   
entrapping everybody inside the room. Luke used that new distraction to destroy   
the microscopic bug on the baron's clothes.   
  
On the dais, his master barely nodded in his direction before refocusing on his   
advisors. Luke could feel that he was pleased with the results. He could only   
hope that it would remain so after Security had studied the body.  
  
  
  
  
Three hours later, the guests were allowed to leave the room. The investigator,   
his own father, 'hadn't' been able to figure out what had happened and had taken   
everyone's names for later interrogation, then had left with the Emperor.   
  
An hour and a half later, having finished their clean up of the reception room,   
the servant boys also left to return to their masters. Luke first walked with   
the others, then he swiftly disappeared in a secret nook behind a wall and   
entered the secret corridors.   
  
  
  
  
He and his friend rendezvoused in the secret corridor near the reception room,   
knelt on one knee and waited for their master to acknowledge their presence.   
  
*Good work, children. Today, you have officially completed level one of your   
training,* he told them solemnly yet implicitly warned them that they were but   
at the beginning of their training.  
  
*Thank you, Master,* they answered together.  
  
*Whose idea was it to hide the theft with an explosion?* he asked them with just   
a trifle sign of annoyance.  
  
*It was mine, Master,* Luke answered humbly, slightly worried that he had done   
wrong.  
  
*A good idea, young Vader,* the other praised him slightly, *but try not to   
destroy my whole palace in your next missions,* he warned him more seriously.  
  
*Yes, Master, I will try to find other alternatives when we will work in your   
palace,* he promised earnestly.  
  
*Good. Mara Jade, do you still have the copy of what I asked you to retrieve?*   
he inquired.  
  
*Yes, Master.*  
  
*Good, make a detour by my rooms before you retire for the night. Dress the   
part,* he advised her.  
  
*Yes, Master.*  
  
*Excellent. Report tomorrow like usual,* he ordered them before cutting the   
link.  
  
*Yes, Master,* the children said, bowing their heads in respect, then   
reintegrated their full senses and looked at each other. They smiled in   
dark satisfaction.  
  
With this first flawless success, they both knew that they were going to see   
more real action.  
  
At last.  
  
  
  
  
******   
  
  
  
Up in the throne room, the Emperor reintegrated his full senses and glanced at   
his silent right arm.   
  
"Your son certainly has unique strategies in mind," he commented coldly.   
  
"I'm sure he didn't mean to upset you in any way with the explosion, Master,"   
the dark lord answered smoothly, instantly rising to his son's defense.  
  
For a moment, the Emperor remained silent, a thin smile playing on his lips as   
he witnessed yet another sign that his right arm had developed real care for his   
son. It wasn't just a desire to use him now, he understood, but the real care   
of a parent. He decided to test how far it went.  
  
"Yet he still ruined close to five living quarters and breached the outer wall   
of the palace. 'That' wasn't necessary to accomplish their goal," he replied   
with a note of false dark annoyance in his voice. "Tell me, Vader, do you   
condone his action?"  
  
The black-clad giant remained silent at that, slightly shifted from one foot to   
another as if in growing discomfort... then he finally shook his head.  
  
"No, Master. Had I known that he was planning this, I would have told him to   
change tactic," the older Vader answered truthfully.  
  
"And that would have saved him from punishment," he retorted mock-coldly, his   
right hand forming into a fist as he kept his eyes and senses locked on the   
other man's.   
  
Vader naturally bristled slightly at the thought of his hurting his son, then   
seemed to turn cold in worry, but right on the heel of those unfaithful thoughts   
came the one thought which saved both himself and the boy from punishment: no   
matter what, he heard him thing, he had to agree with his master's bidding and   
would teach his son to serve him better. Vader, the Emperor smiled to himself,   
was still devoted to him only, his cold obedience overpowering his corruptive   
care.   
  
Pleased with the results of the test, Palpatine suddenly unclenched his hand and   
waved with it as if it were inconsequential. "Were I not satisfied by the   
overall results, of course," he smiled meanly at his servant who visibly relaxed   
at this revelation. "However," he added more seriously, "do teach him to not   
overdo it. I shall not always be lenient with him."  
  
"I will, Master," Vader reassured him.   
  
"Still," he reflected out loud while he stood to his feet, "it does prove to us   
that he isn't ready to be involved in any of 'your' missions, my friend," he   
commented coolly, playing again with his servant, this time to make 'him'   
justify his decision to keep the boy where he was at the moment. "The child is   
still impetuous, he would attack too fast and be killed."  
  
"Yes, I understand, Master," Vader nodded. "He is good in simulations, but good   
against a living, conniving Jedi is something else."  
  
"Exactly, my friend," the Emperor smiled thinly, amused by how easily he made   
the other say what he wanted him to say without touching his mind in any way;   
Vader truly was an extension of his will, he thought in contentment. "Now, tell   
me how you will explain the demise of 'dear' Baron Tsui," he cackled in   
satisfaction.  
  
As his right arm proceeded to tell him how he would play his own part in his   
son's plan, Palpatine reflected about his plan with the children. They had   
proven to him that they were up for spying/stealing missions now. Young Jade   
had also been very satisfying against the four guards while young Vader   
obviously more than mastered his skills with the Force, and, he conceded, he was   
quite a tactician already. During his contact with the children, he had felt   
that most of the ideas had come from the boy, but he had been tempered by the   
girl. Upon that thought, he smiled slightly once again in dark satisfaction.   
The depth of their bond was even more efficient than he had first surmised;   
more reliable than a comlink connection, it allowed them to be in constant   
contact without anybody being the wiser. In short, he smiled to himself, the   
children truly were his future best elements--- but only as a team, he decided   
as he envisioned two possible future. One was glorious, the other,   
disappointing. Without the boy's help, Jade would be little more than a good   
agent and the boy would become a problem because of his bond with his father.   
No, he resolved once again, those two would not be separated anytime soon, not   
even if the boy came to prove himself worthy of helping his father.  
  
In front of him, Vader continued with his report about the evening.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
The following morning, Luke and Mara showed up at the training center as if they   
hadn't been in a mission the previous night. Nobody could even tell that they   
had barely gotten three hours of sleep since they had used a refreshing trance   
to rest. They reported to their flight instructor who then brought them in a   
new training room.  
  
The moment that they entered the new room, the children realized that it was not   
a training room; it was a real hangar, with real fighters waiting for them.   
Despite their growing control over their emotions, both children couldn't help   
but gape as they understood what was about to happen.  
  
"What are you waiting for?" their instructor snapped. "Get onboard and do your   
checks."  
  
"Yes, Sir," they both saluted, then, after exchanging a glance of delight, ran   
toward the ships and climbed up their ladders.   
  
Mara chose the headhunter fighter; Luke picked the zebulon ship. Once inside,   
they both switched on the piloting mode and began their checks. Engines,   
weapons, navigators, shields, steering, everything turned out correctly.  
  
Then, the signal came to lift off. Luke turned on the repulsorlifts, hovered   
until he was out of the opening hangar, then pulled on the throttle and soared   
toward the sky above them. Behind him, Mara followed suite with perhaps a   
little more flourish than he himself had displayed.   
  
"Go to the coordinates Mu-9076." their instructor ordered them.  
  
  
  
  
While they made their way to their rendezvous, Luke and Mara exchanged a thought   
or two.  
  
*What do you think is going on?* he asked his friend.  
  
*I don't know. Do you think he'll pit us against one another?* she suggested.  
  
*It wouldn't be fair considering our different ships,* he observed.  
  
*Yeah, but a fight is never fair, flyboy,* she reminded him.  
  
*Touche.* he conceded.  
  
*Besides----*  
  
A volley of energy bolts came their way, making them pull apart to regroup a few   
meters away.  
  
*Heads up, it's us against them!* he told her, flipping the stick to avoid yet   
another volley of fire.  
  
*No kidding.* she muttered humorlessly. *Sideways or linear?*  
  
*I'll take the front,* he told her, bringing his ship in front of hers.   
  
Ahead of them, the drones began to disperse to take them from all sides at   
once. Following the guidance of the Force, they both dropped under the line of   
fire before veering sharply to the left, then pulled back up and destroyed two   
drones by attacking their underbellies. Shielding their eyes from the orange   
explosions, they both continued their loop upward while twisting on their   
vertical axis to avoid more fire until they were heading back toward their   
remaining attackers.   
  
Luke came down hard again on another drone; Mara grazed the other's reactor and   
it also exploded. With four enemies left, the children used a different tactic   
and separated, thus confusing the drones who were still adapting to their   
tactics. The young Jedis managed to hit three more adversaries and destroyed   
the last one together.  
  
"Can you see any other one?" Mara asked him even as she swiveled her head from   
right to left to check their surroundings.  
  
"No, nor can I feel anybody but us," he added.  
  
"Then we're done," she commented coolly.   
  
Luke heard her open a channel with the 'base'.   
  
"We're done, Sir," she informed their instructor.  
  
"Come back home," he answered shortly before cutting off the transmission.  
  
"All right, let's go," Mara told him.   
  
"You check the sensors, I'll find us a way in," he retorted, closing his eyes to   
feel a guidance in the Force... and there! "Got it," he told her.   
  
"All right, flyboy, lead the way."   
  
They flew in silence for perhaps thirty seconds before Luke spoke up again.   
  
"Nice maneuver you pulled back there, Jade." he praised her.  
  
"Thanks, you were not too bad either. If I didn't know better, I'd----"  
  
Both children sensed the danger a nano-second before an attack group came upon   
them, straight out of a micro hyperspace jump. The kids instantly pulled apart,   
reinforced their shields and tried to regroup, but this time, the attackers were   
faster, more agile, and wouldn't let them regroup.   
  
'All right,' Luke thought grimly. 'You want to play? I'm game.'  
  
He turned on the heavier weapons of his ship, kept on his evasive maneuvers,   
then shot two torpedoes. With a Force barrage, the torpedoes were redirected   
backward and destroyed two of his four pursuers. He used the distraction to   
climb out of range, then came back on the two remaining ones. It was his turn   
now.  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, Mara had completed a reversed flip, going downward before coming back   
up, using the greater strength of her engine to outdo the drones. When she dove   
again, they were in her line of fire. She hit three of them before they had   
been able to avoid her. She spotted her companion and noticed that her own   
quarry was trying to rally with its companion; and an idea came to her.   
  
*Luke, lead him toward me. They'll take care of each other,* she sent to her   
ally.  
  
Young Vader was quick to answer. He veered off and headed into firing distance   
of her own quarry. Naturally her quarry took potshots at him, but since his   
shields were stronger than the average, her friend was able to bear this attack   
until he felt the other one fire at him from behind. He dove down; the two   
drones killed each other. Jade pulled up to avoid the two explosions. It was   
over, again.  
  
  
  
After that surprise attack, the children warily made their way back to the   
training center, keeping themselves alert for any new attack--- but none came.   
  
Luke shut down his fighter and leaned back in the seat. Whew, that had been   
quite some session. Unlike the other ones, he might have been cooked for real,   
he admitted in very dim fear... He turned his head to his left and saw his   
friend vault over the side of her cockpit before she landed on the floor. He   
noted that she wasn't giving off any sign that this exercise had shaken her.   
'Fool,' he berated himself. 'Of course you shouldn't be distraught; you knew   
that it would happen sooner or later. Besides, you were against real enemies   
yesterday; if they had spotted you, you would've been against real weapons.'  
He mentally shook himself and got out of his fighter.   
  
Their training had just taken a new, more challenging turn.  
  
  
  
After that session, they reported for their armory training and demonstrated   
their skills, using all kinds of weapons to do so. Both children now mastered   
any model of blasters, bombs, and other short range weapons. Mara was agile at   
knife attacks while Luke's forte was to throw them at his targets.  
  
When it came to the heavier weaponry, Luke could easily manipulate almost any   
kind of weapons whereas Mara had to restrain herself to weapons that were no   
longer than her arm. However, she made up for that weakness by having a   
flawless aim with whatever she manipulated. Finally, after they learnt their   
new lesson about the specs of different armies, they demonstrated their   
abilities with very heavy weapons such as quad guns, air-defense lasers, and   
more.  
  
Last on the list of the day were the weapons from different species. By the end   
of the day, they could both use a Stokhli stick any way they wanted, same thing   
with a bowcaster, a gaffi stick, and any other weapon that was traditional in   
the different civilizations they had studied for the past months.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Luke ignored his cramped arms and continued to strain against the bolt that   
would give him access to the compartment that he needed to reach to fix the   
navcomputer of the shuttle. Beside him, Mara was busy fixing the hyperdrive.  
Finally, he managed to pry the plate and calculator free and began to study what   
was wrong with it.  
  
It was kind of like repairing repulsor lifts, he reflected, except that it was   
much more complex. Much like their training now, he conceded. Between   
missions, he and Mara were spending more and more time at the training center,   
facing down challenges after challenges. They were no longer tested in one area   
only; instead, their tests were about several skills at the same time.  
  
Like at the moment. To succeed, they had to understand Huttese writing while   
fixing a mechanical mess. Before that, their fighting session of the morning   
had pitted them against armed droids and remotes; they had needed both weapons   
and their self-defense to get out of the room with only minor injuries.  
  
He himself had almost sprained his ankle while Mara would have a blaster burn to   
nurse for a few days, but it didn't matter, he reminded himself . They had   
succeeded. Having found the problem of the calculator, he focused on his   
welding and redid the broken connections. The lights returned to green on the   
unit; it had worked. He plugged it back in the navigator, then attacked the   
next problem: the missing connections between the console and the nav computer.  
  
"Pass me the twelve," Mara told him, her head buried in the console.   
  
He gave it to her before they both resumed their fixing. They didn't waste time   
in pointless chit chat; time was of the essence. The clock was ticking; they   
wouldn't fail, he resolved, because he and Mara were perfectly synchronized in   
their efforts. They would collect yet another perfect score.  
  
And so it went, day after day, after day...  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
Another two months later, Luke came back at his father's palace and sank into   
the couch of his father's favorite living room. He closed his eyes and tried to   
decide if he was going to take a nap right now, or if he would go to bed early   
if not now. He decided to watch the news, perhaps try to catch something that   
would prove useful for his next mission, then he would go to bed. He turned on   
the vid, settled himself comfortably, then listened to the news person.   
  
Boring, they weren't even talking about his father's ongoing mission against   
space pirates.  
  
During the adds, he closed his eyes and reflected about his and Mara's latest   
mission earlier that day.   
  
They had been with a group of tourist to infiltrate a factory, then they had   
quietly slipped away and stolen plans for a new kind of shielding apparatus.   
Even now, he smirked in pride, nobody knew that the copy had taken place.  
The master had been very pleased with this success, the latest in a series of   
five missions, he sighed in contentment, then in eagerness.  
  
And a new one was coming up, in a few days. It was going to take place in the   
Palace once more, during the night--- The news person came back on line.   
  
"Today, the University of Alderaan has opened a new unit to her programs..." the   
woman began.  
  
Luke watched the images, then sat up , transfixed.   
  
He hadn't seen her for almost two years, ever since he and his then 'master' had   
stopped by the planet to collect rebellion propaganda in fact, but the little   
girl still captivated him most intently and instantly.  
  
On the vid screen, Princess Leia Organa was walking with a group of adults,   
looking around herself with great interest. She was, of course, wearing very   
fine clothes and she behaving most properly. Her hair were also pinned up quite   
elaborately on her head, even more so than Mara managed, he dimly noted.   
However, his brain returned to a null status when the journalist asked her if   
she wanted to study at the university when she would be older; he found himself   
literally drinking her words. Why did he have the feeling that she was familiar   
somehow?.., he wondered. The news changed and he recovered his cooler mood.   
  
This was ridiculous, he told himself even as he tried to shake the princess'   
remaining memory from his brain. She was just a girl, and an unknown one at   
that, he reminded himself. He had never reacted that way with Mara, he then   
rebuked himself. He spent much time with Jade, even considered her as a sister   
sometimes, yet he had never drunken her words like he had just done with the   
rich little princess. He should, by any right, dismiss the princess as   
inconsequential, he tried to rationalize, and yet... Mara would tell him that he   
were being a fool, he thought non too gently at himself, then softened as the   
thought of his companion brought a smile to his face.   
  
He really enjoyed the time he was spending with her, he admitted. She was cool,   
nice, a most reliable ally but... he could also tell her things he couldn't talk   
about even with his father. He was sometimes more content to stay with her than   
to return home... but that was simply because he had company, he told himself.  
He loved his father and wouldn't want to miss one minute of sharing with him...   
the problem being that his father wasn't home very often... Cursed Jedis who   
were still keeping him separate from his father.  
  
For the almost eleven year old boy, the separations were getting longer and   
harder to bear up. But he had to get used to it, he scolded himself as he   
caught his thoughts. It was the price for serving the Emperor, and it was a   
price both he and his father gladly paid to have this honor and to be together   
to do so. He turned off the vid and laid back on the couch, selecting it as his   
bed for the night.  
  
A little rough night would toughen him, he decided.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
Three months later, the children had yet another mission to accomplish in their   
master's palace, this time, during the day. According to their information,   
their target, a rich merchant, was supposed to leave with his family for the   
day; they themselves planned to take advantage of their absence to infiltrate   
their quarters and to retrieve information about an organizing movement which   
meant to offer save hiding for the fewer and fewer Jedi anarchists. Their   
master suspected that this particular merchant was the main covering 'agent' for   
the hiding-Jedi business; he wanted them to expose him.   
  
Luke was more than glad to have be assigned to this mission. The faster the   
Jedi would be killed, the faster his father would return home; he hadn't seen   
him for almost half a year now, and busy or not, the long separation was   
beginning to become very hard to bear.  
  
Both garbed like regular children of Imperial dignitaries, Luke, now browned   
hair, and Mara, momentarily black haired, skipped in the corridors on their way   
to the playground/garden which were located nearby their target's quarters. For   
a long while, they played in the courtyard, waiting for the alley to be desert   
from both the merchant's bodyguards 'and' their master's troops.  
  
A few hours later, the field was finally clear for them. Careful to not attract   
attention on themselves, they returned in front of the unguarded door, then, now   
set on the spying mode, Luke hacked their way inside while Mara guarded his   
back. Once inside, they headed for the merchant's room and methodically scoured   
the room and his computer. Since the man was only a visitor on the planet, they   
both figured that any sensitive information would be hidden in his luggage, not   
the suite that was lent to him for the duration of his stay--- and they were   
right. Luke uncovered a secret compartment in one of the suitcases and   
retrieved its content; he brought the small disc to his friend who was busy with   
the computer.   
  
*Let's try this,* he told her.  
  
Wordlessly, Mara loaded the disc and called up the directory.  
  
*Jack pot, flyboy,* she retorted with a cold smirk.  
  
Luke exchanged a grim glance with her, then began to put together the parts of   
the small bomb that they would use to draw their master's security in here where   
they would find the data disk and put the man and his family under arrest.   
Unlike the last time he had used that strategy, he had been careful to take a   
very small charge which would mimic the explosion of a computer, a more than   
regular incident in their technology-surrounded world.  
  
He selected the communication console which was the closest to the fire alarm.   
The fire would be controlled in no time, and the people in charge of the   
investigation would find the disc in the man's luggage. Mara put it in one of   
the most easy-to-think hiding places, then joined him in the living room.  
  
*Time to go, flyboy,* she sent through the Force.  
  
They waited for the corridor to be deserted, then resumed their childish   
skipping as if nothing had happened. When the surveillance cameras picked them   
on their screen, the surveillance agents never suspected them of anything--- not   
even when the bomb went off. They pretended to be scared out of their wits and   
ran for all their worth.   
  
Well, Luke amended, not their full worth, but as fast as what a child of their   
age could normally manage.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
A week later, and a few other missions and lessons, Mara woke up in the recovery   
room after another session of their bearing-pain training.   
  
Darn, how she hated that exercise, she thought to herself even as she   
closed her eyes to force down a groan of complaint. It was necessary in their   
training, she reminded her. Because of it, she hated getting hurt in missions,   
and if she were, on very rare occasions, her injuries never stopped her. Up to   
now, neither she and Luke hadn't gotten seriously injured since they had always   
accomplished their missions under cover, but, she thought more seriously as she   
opened her eyes again and gazed at her friend nearby, she could somehow feel   
that someday, their pain-bearing training would come in handy for him. For her   
too, of course, she rebuked herself, but, she then conceded, she had a very   
strong feeling that her friend would need it more than herself. It was just a   
feeling, she tried to reason herself, if a powerful one. She watched him as he   
too rested from their last session.   
  
She knew that she was lucky to have him as a friend and partner. No other   
servant had ever been allowed to fraternized with another one like they had.   
She didn't know if it was because he was Lord Vader's son, or if it was because   
her master had felt their potential as a team, but she was glad to have someone   
to talk to, someone of her age. Being an imperial servant was sometimes   
difficult, she sighed tiredly, and since admitting weaknesses was a flaw, she   
had nobody to talk to when she needed to share those things. Except Luke.   
She dimly wondered if they would be friends for the rest of their lives...  
  
Ten minutes later, Luke awoke too, complained about the same aches that she was   
feeling, then they were told to report to their next teacher.  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Weeks later, at night, both children crept from one shadow to another, heading   
for the headquarters of yet another company. This time, their target was   
creating computer programs and their master was particularly interested in their   
new droid concept. He didn't want the businessmen to develop it; he wanted that   
technology for himself.  
  
Once the children reached a blind corner of the huge complex, they pulled out   
their climbing equipment, fastened the magnets to their hands and knees, then   
swiftly began the long climb.  
  
Half-an-hour later, once they reached the higher, wind-swept levels, they began   
to move sideways on the facade of the complex, heading for their target: a   
ventilation exhaust port. When they reached it, they unscrewed it and pulled   
it free, working as if there weren't a kilometers-long drop under them. Luke   
held the grid with the Force while his companion stowed the screws in her   
pockets for later use. Mara climbed first in the port, pulled the grid inside   
with herself, then Luke followed suite.   
  
After getting rid of their magnets, they quickly but silently walked on four,   
following the infiltration path that they had selected during their planning.   
Once they reached the research lab, Luke pulled a device from his pack while   
Mara took care of the new grid, then once his friend had pulled the grid free,   
he expertly deactivated the laser/alarm system.   
  
*Okay, count two minutes,* Mara told him before she dropped down in the   
laboratory.  
  
Luke closely monitored her while keeping the alarm system in check.  
  
One minute twenty seconds later, Mara was back. She jumped and he pulled her up   
with the Force before he helped her back inside the pipe.  
  
Twenty seconds later, they were back toward their exit, and thirty minutes   
later, heading for the nearest secret entrance of the Emperor's private   
corridors. Both children grinned proudly; they knew that nobody would know that   
the data had been stolen, not erased by accident.  
  
They also knew that their master would be pleased, again.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
The seekers were floating in the air, as if waiting for the children to make the   
first move. The children were also floating in the air, easily finding their   
equilibrium in the zero-gs environment.  
  
The first times that they had trained in 0gs, they had all but controlled their   
tumblings, but they had learnt how to move and balance themselves in such an   
environment; after countless bumps into walls and each other, they had developed   
the techniques, and were now ready for their first firefight in zero-gs.  
  
As usual, the remotes were set to kill. Luke and Mara exchanged a grim gaze,   
then Luke turned on his lightsaber and drew his blaster while Mara drew her two   
blasters. The remotes began to attack. Luke shifted his stance and deflected   
the bolts, again and again, slowly pushing himself toward the far wall, then he   
barely pushed himself away from it, tumbled over the remotes and shot two of   
them dead before they had corrected their aim. He easily stopped his drifting   
with the other wall, controlling his rebound by establishing as light a touch as   
he could with the mentioned wall.  
  
Behind him, Mara equally used the wall to move away from the little hornets.   
She pushed herself under them, barely moved to flip on her back and shot them   
from under. However, Luke saved her from a shot in the leg by pushing himself   
from the floor and intercepting the bolt with his lightsaber before slashing up   
the last remote.  
  
That was their first, easy victory.  
  
Four, gradually more difficult exercises followed.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
On the day of his eleventh birthday, Luke was given a great gift: his father   
returned home after months of absence. It was his only gift since he had long   
learnt that a birthday wasn't an important thing for an imperial servant, merely   
a way to keep track of time, but for Luke, it was a special day this time, and   
he couldn't have asked for a greater present. When he had returned from three   
long days of preparation suddenly interrupted as per the Emperor's order, he had   
been so concerned about his displeasing him in any way that he had completely   
failed to notice the returned presence of his father in the Force... Until he   
walked out of the turbolift and 'woke up'. The moment he understood what he was   
feeling, he ran as fast as he could toward his father's location, then screeched   
to a halt once he faced the open door. His father's black silhouette was   
standing just behind his desk, contrasting sharply with the vista of Coruscant.  
  
He could barely believe that he was home again; it had been almost eight months   
since he had left for another mission. For a moment, as if afraid that he were   
dreaming and that he would wake up from it if he moved, he held still, barely   
breathing in fear of shattering the precious moment--- then his father turned   
toward him and held his gaze. Forgetting everything he had been taught or how   
he was supposed to behave now, Luke resumed his run, then leaped and fastened   
his small arms around his father's neck as he bent down to return the upcoming   
hug.  
  
"Father," he cried despite his best attempts to not show weakness. "You're   
really here," he said even as he tightened his hold on his neck.  
  
"Yes, I am, I missed you, Son," his father answered warmly, returning his hugs   
tenfolds before standing up once again with him in his arms.   
  
"I missed you too, what took you so long?" he asked--- then caught his rebuking   
tone of voice. "I'm sorry," he hurried to add, "I just missed you so much..."  
  
"I understand what you mean, Luke," his father reassured him. "I would have   
come back earlier, but trouble kept coming up until last week."  
  
"I don't doubt it, Father," Luke answered, slightly pulling away from his   
father's neck to look at him. "It's not my place to question you anyway. I'm   
sorry."  
  
"No apologies are necessary here," his father shook his head, then hugged him   
closer once again. "It is wonderful to see you again, at last."  
  
"I'm also glad you're back, Father," the boy answered, feeling fresh tears of   
happiness welling up in his eyes.  
  
His father was back; he wasn't lonely anymore.  
  
  
  
Lord Vader had meant to surprise his son by not allowing him to feel his   
presence until he were closer, but he had never expected the boy to be this   
delighted to see him again. Every time that he had tried to contact the boy, he   
hadn't been in the palace and he couldn't relay his calls to the training center   
or the Emperor.   
  
By all rights, he conceded, the child should have begun to grow cooler, more   
distant after such long separations... but no. Luke was as loving,   
enthusiastic, and caring as ever. Despite the fact that such feelings didn't   
sit well with the Emperor's requirements, Vader was glad that his son's training   
didn't affect his true personality. Luke was still his son, the boy who was the   
greatest gift that life had given to him in a long, long time. And thinking of   
gift, he reminded himself, it was once again the boy's birthday today.  
  
"Say," he began seriously, "I believe someone is getting older today," he teased   
him lightly. "Happy birthday, Son," he wished him warmly.  
  
"Thanks, and thank you for the gift, Father," the boy answered earnestly,   
pulling away from their embrace to look at him.   
  
"What gift?" he asked, puzzled by his comment. Although he had wanted to give   
something to the boy, the Emperor had expressly forbidden him from ever giving   
birthday gifts to the boy. A gift, he said, had to be earned through hard work,   
not because one was getting older.  
  
"You," his son answered, cutting in his thoughts. "I was beginning to wonder if   
you'd ever come back," he then commented seriously.   
  
"And I wondered if I'd see you again," he nodded in answer. "I tried to contact   
you though, Luke. You were never here when I called."  
  
"You did?" the boy gaped slightly in surprise, then shook his head. "I'm sorry,   
I guess I was at the training center when it happened... I do spend most of my   
time there now," he admitted almost shamefully.  
  
Vader gently brought his fingers under his son's chin and made him look back up   
at him. "You don't have to apologize, Luke," he told him seriously. "This is   
your duty, and I can only encourage you to do everything you can to fulfill it.   
The Emperor is very pleased with what you and Mara Jade have accomplished so   
far."  
  
"Thanks," the boy blushed slightly, then saddened, "However, I fear that we've   
upset him somehow this time," he commented with a wince of worry.  
  
Vader instantly answered that worry by worrying with his son. "Why do you say   
this?" he asked him, tilting his head to the left.  
  
"He canceled our new mission. In four days, we were supposed to infiltrate an   
embassy and steal data from them... but we just got his order to stop everything   
and go back to our quarters. What does it mean, Father?" the child asked, his   
voice wavering slightly as he lost some of his self-confidence.  
  
Thanks to his son's explanation however, Vader's worry dissolved; he knew why   
the Emperor had called the children off. "Don't worry, Luke, he has another   
mission in mind for you, that's all. Tell me, how is your training going?" he   
asked him with interest.  
  
At first, the child stared at him in confusion, then slowly, he answered him,   
telling him everything he remembered about his training and missions. The more   
he asked him questions, the more the boy revealed to him how successful he and   
his friend were, and the more his self-confidence returned until Vader 'knew'   
that his son was ready to hear the permission that had managed to obtain from   
the Emperor.  
  
"If you are this excellent, Son," he commented seriously after his son's   
retelling, "then you and Mara can indeed help me in four days," he stated with a   
proud smile in his voice.  
  
  
  
Luke was flabbergasted. Had his father just said what he thought he had said???  
  
"You mean... go in a mission with you?" Luke asked, gazing at his father in   
disbelief.  
  
He had never been allowed to help his father before, and the Emperor had always   
been adamant about not allowing him to take part to them. Things couldn't have   
changed---  
  
"Yes," his father nodded seriously, "the Emperor pulled you off your other   
assignment so that you can leave with me tonight and prepare for a mission on   
Alderaan. Do you feel ready for this?" he asked him meaningfully.  
  
"Yes," Luke smiled, trying hard to hide his great joy.   
  
At last, he would finally fulfill one of his dream: he would serve alongside his   
father. What a pleasure it would be.   
  
"Good, then get ready, we're leaving in three hours," his father commented with   
a last comforting hand on his shoulder, then he stood once again to his full   
height. "I must see the Emperor; I will pick you up after my meeting."  
  
"Yes, Father," he reflexively bowed his head, then turned on his heel and left   
for his room.  
  
A mission with his father, he thought more seriously. He had to prepare well   
for it if he didn't want to disappoint him.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Four days later, Luke was indeed part of his father's mission, but it wasn't   
like what he had thought it would be. Instead of seeing more action, his father   
had been schedule to attend a diplomatic reception on Alderaan.  
  
At first, Luke had been disappointed by the turn of events, but he had   
pushed back those unfaithful thoughts and focused on his task. He 'was' still   
on a mission if not an active one. He and Mara had to set up discreet trackers   
that would allow his father's Intelligence to spy on Jedi-sympathetic   
individuals. Luke's part of the operation was to probe each guest when they   
came near him and thus pick out the traitors from the allies. Then he had to   
transmit the names to his friend who would then either take care to plant the   
listening device or transmit the information to the other spies who were on the   
planet with them.  
  
It was a very important mission, he reminded himself, and much rested on his   
shoulders. His father was here as a dressing window while 'he' was at the core   
of the operation. He had no time for sulking. Hence, he waited patiently out   
of the main room, standing still like a good slave boy who was allegedly taking   
care of his master's comlink, filtrating the calls to warn him if something   
extremely important came up.  
  
In fact though, whenever someone came out of the doors, he tested them for Jedi   
sympathy.  
  
  
  
Two hours later, and at least a hundred and fifty probe, a new figure came out   
of the room. Luke inconspicuously scanned her too, then froze in mid-probe.   
She was the young princess... the young girl he had seen only twice in his life.  
He couldn't resist his curiosity and dared look up to see her for real. She was   
looking in her back, as if checking if she were being followed. She was dressed   
in a fine light-blue dress and her small neck was adorned with a very delicate   
pearl necklace. She turned around, and for the shortest of moments, their eyes   
met.   
  
They instantly gaped at each other in shock, and Luke felt as if was drawing   
them toward together although he was unable to follow its guidance. Remembering   
his role of a slave, he hurried to drop his gaze back to the floor. The   
princess' gaze didn't leave him; he felt her pity, her curiosity, but she didn't   
come closer. She was tempted to though. On the other hand, she didn't even   
address him, probably because she knew not to put a slave in harm's way by   
talking to him, he surmised. Even though slavery wasn't allowed on her planet,   
he had no doubts that the young girl knew that the best way to help slaves if   
they came to her home planet was to not talk to them--- To his surprise, the   
girl took a step toward him---- but before she could do something else, the door   
of the reception room opened again and a woman's voice spoke up.  
  
"Leia, what are you doing?" the woman asked the young girl.   
  
"Nothing, Mother, I was just tired to be in that room," the princess answered   
primly.  
  
Luke scanned the woman while she spoke with her daughter. She was Jedi   
sympathetic. So was the girl in fact.  
  
"Come now, don't stay here," the queen gently prompted her.  
  
Although he couldn't see the adult, Luke felt her as she motioned toward him,   
then she lowered her voice to whisper in the girl's hear; he easily enhanced   
his hearing with the Force.  
  
"You don't want Vader to hurt him because of you, do you? He looks fragile   
enough as it is," the adult said to her daughter.  
  
Luke felt the young princess's eyes on him once more, then she followed her   
mother back inside the room. Once alone, he had to restrain a slight smirk from   
crossing his lips. Fragile? Really? He was far from fragile, but his new,   
long, ample-sleeved shirt was creating that illusion. He didn't have any   
choice to wear that kind of shirt tonight, he reminded himself; his arms were   
too muscled to not betray his intensive training anymore. However, since he had   
had to cover his real slave mark, he now bore a forged slave mark on his neck to   
identify him as a his father's servant--- The comlink went off in his hand.  
  
  
  
Mara finished to plant her listening/tracking device in her target's ship, then   
checked which other ones she had to take care of. Lord Vader's agents had   
barred off three ships while she had been busy with her chosen target. That   
left four targets, Alderaan's castle included. She selected that one as her   
own, gathered her equipment, then found her stealth speeder bike and flew in the   
castle's direction.  
  
  
Once she was above a room with an open window, she jumped and landed lightly on   
the curved roof, controlled her slide downward with the Force, then grabbed hold   
of the window's upper ledge, flipped her position to change her momentum and   
jumped inside the open window. Since she didn't know where the Viceroy's   
apartments were, she waited for her friend to pull the information out of the   
Viceroy's mind.  
  
Three minutes later, she was on her way. The corridors were mostly deserted, as   
if the viceroy didn't need guards, she reflected. He was a fool, but she   
certainly wasn't. She kept her senses alert, cat-footing closer and closer to   
her target's room, then slipped inside the unprotected door. She took a moment   
to study the layout of the room and decided to plant her device near the   
couple's bed table. Once this was done, she pulled out her remote caller and   
contacted her speeder bike.  
  
Two minutes later, she had jumped from the window ledge and back on it; she   
headed back for the dark lord's shuttle. Luke had just warned her that he was   
on his way out. On her way in, she allowed a smirk to crease her lips. That,   
she reflected, had been one of her easiest infiltration ever.  
  
  
  
  
Back on the reception's level, Luke stepped in behind his father, keeping his   
head lowered. While the viceroy was escorting the dark lord toward the lift,   
Luke felt the young princess's presence behind himself.   
  
She was looking at him. He was tempted to look at her one last time, but he   
knew that he couldn't. He dimly wondered why she was paying him so much   
attention, unless, he suddenly understood... she had never seen a slave of her   
age before. Yeah, that was probably it, he surmised. He could understand her,   
he conceded, but she was too sensitive for her own good, he thought more   
seriously. As he probed her further, he realized that when she would be older,   
she would meddle in a other's business if no one taught her otherwise. He also   
knew that this kind of attitude was one of the surest ways to get into very deep   
trouble... Shame for her, he thought more glumly. She looked like an   
interesting person and didn't mean any wrong. She was just too caring... kind   
of like him, he conceded, but his father and the Emperor were teaching him to   
control his flaw. He knew that 'he' wouldn't get into trouble because of it...   
the princess however...   
  
He climbed in front of the speeder, turned it on, then brought his father to his   
waiting shuttle.  
  
  
  
  
They were now settled in the shuttle and ready for the short ride up to his   
father's ship, but when the pilots tried to turn on the repulsorlifts, they died   
out on them. To Luke's surprise, his father didn't seem upset by the small   
problem. Instead, he told the pilots to fix the anomaly, then left the shuttle.  
Luke watched him leave, bemused. Now there was a strange reaction coming from   
his father, he thought seriously. His own first impulse was to berate the   
pilots for fools, then to shove them away from the compartment and fix the   
problem himself, but of course, he couldn't give in to his desires. Instead, he   
remained in the prisoners' compartment. While he waited for them to do their   
job, he felt his father search something with the Force but, he realized, he   
always came up dry. There was something here, he finally understood, something   
his powerful father had detected. He tried to help him, but instead of   
achieving much, he fell asleep before he was aware of what was happening.  
He hadn't realized that he was dead to the world.  
  
  
  
  
When they finally reached the Executor, Vader still hadn't been able to pierce   
the secret of the strange feeling that he had had as long as he had been on   
Alderaan. Somehow, he conceded, he had had the feeling to be leaving something   
behind.   
  
Something important.  
  
He had scanned the Force, had opened up his mind to its guidance, but had come   
up dry. There was something on Alderaan though, he thought seriously.   
Something which was attracting him in a strange way yet remained hidden from   
him. It wasn't power, it wasn't danger, it was... something else.   
  
The shuttle set down in the hangar bay of the Executor. He stood up and headed   
for the ramp, expecting his son to join him--- but Luke failed to show up.   
Slightly worried, he retreated on his steps and checked in the prisoners'   
compartment; his son was fast asleep, looking as vulnerable as any eleven-year-  
old boy in the galaxy. For a moment, Vader simply gazed at him, then he   
conceded that he was moot to wake him up. The boy had done a great job tonight,   
deserving every second of sleep he could get. He was equally aware that his   
son's young body had to recharge himself after his skillful uses of the Force.  
He also had no doubt that the young girl Mara was also fast asleep in her secret   
cubicle. He wouldn't wake her up either.  
  
Careful not to wake his son up, he delicately picked him up from his sitting   
position on the bench and took him in his right arm, balancing him against his   
shoulder and chest. The boy muttered slightly, then laid his head on his   
father's shoulder and sleepily wound an arm around his neck. At that moment,   
Vader felt a warm feeling of love for his son. He was tempted to cradle him in   
his two arms, to hold him close to himself, but he knew that it wouldn't be a   
good idea. He had to keep up the illusion of his son being his slave. He   
settled for carrying him in one arm.  
  
The pilots gaped at the sight of their lord carrying his slave.   
  
"Sleep is his reward when he serves me well," he commented curtly, not   
interested to see any upstarts of rumors about himself and the boy.   
  
The two pilots bowed their heads in understanding. Vader walked down the plank   
and headed for his quarters, his son balanced in his right arm. Luke never   
steered, completely unaware in blissful sleep.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
The next day, Vader brought the two young people back to Coruscant, pretending   
that he had to report in person to the Emperor. The first thing he did once   
they were on their way was to remove the fake slave mark on his son's neck.   
The boy sat on a high bunk while he himself lightly scraped it off with a   
special solution. The less he saw his son's different marks, even faked ones,   
the better he felt.  
  
"I have had word that the operation is a success," he informed the two children.   
"Intelligence is currently tracking the down the targets. The dignitaries will   
lead us to the Jedis."  
  
"That's great, Father," Luke smiled, bending his head to the side to allow easy   
access to another part of his special tattoo.   
  
  
  
While his father continued to work on his neck, Luke reflected that he liked   
those moments of closeness with him. The sensation of his gentle, gloved   
fingers on his neck, his strong presence closed- by... It was making   
him feel strong too, and invincible, and completely contented. He was with his   
father ; he couldn't ask for anything else at the moment.  
  
"Princess Leia came close to you, didn't she?" his father asked him.  
  
"Yes. I think that she wanted to talk with me, but her mother stopped   
her," he commented seriously.   
  
"Princess Leia?" Mara asked from her perch on the other bunk.  
  
She was nursing a blaster burn on her arm which she had gotten aboard one of her   
targets; it was minor injury, but even though his friend was as tough as he was,   
he could feel her relief to finally be able to tend herself. She was also   
tired, but then, he conceded, who wouldn't be after a night in a hiding   
compartment.  
  
"She was there yesterday," Luke explained to her. "and, around midnight, I   
think she tried to escape her parents' notice to talk with me."  
  
"Why would she do that?" Mara wondered while she dabbed at her injury.  
  
Luke understood what she meant: a slave normally was beyond notice, except for   
her, he wanted to tease her but kept himself from doing it. His friend would   
deny her care till he admitted his wrong judgment.  
  
"She's never seen a slave this close before," his father supplied before   
Luke could answer her without ribbing her. "That girl is so much sheltered,"   
the adult then commented, "that real life will hit her in the guts when she will   
face it for the first time. Luke was probably nothing more than a curiosity for   
her." he finished wisely.  
  
"Oh," Jade nodded shortly.  
  
"In fact," Luke continued while obeying his father's wordless request and   
bending his head toward the left, "she is already flawed. She cares too much   
and doesn't think enough," he commented coolly.   
  
His father finished to clean up the special ink, then gently wiped the solution   
from his skin.  
  
"You are right, Son." he agreed with him. "There, it's done."  
  
"Thanks, Father. It was getting itchy," Luke smiled, turning toward his father.  
  
"I have no doubt of that." he answered him. "Body painting isn't meant to last   
for more than thirty-six hours."  
  
The two of them gazed at each other, then his father's hand touched his face.   
Luke instantly knew that something was troubling him.   
  
"What is it?" he asked.  
  
Mara watched them for a little longer, then she turned away, giving them their   
privacy.  
  
*I wish I could do the same thing with your real marks, Luke,* he sent him   
through the Force. *You deserve so much more than what you have because we have   
to keep up that charade,* he commented in mild frustration.  
  
*I know, Father, but without that charade,* he reminded him, *we wouldn't have   
met. I guess it's the price to pay,* he said in precocious wisdom.  
  
*You shouldn't pay any price,* his father retorted, definitely frustrated now.   
*You haven't done anything; the Jedis have... I have.*  
  
Luke took his father's hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly. *No, Father,   
none of this is your fault. It's the Jedis'...* he told him wisely, then took   
on a more dangerous mental tone of voice. *And that is why they will pay with   
all of their lives, Father. We will destroy them all,* he promised, a dark fire   
of revenge blazing in his cool eyes.  
  
*Yes, we will,* Vader agreed, returning his squeeze.   
  
He then leaned down to hug his son.  
  
"I love you, Father." Luke said out loud as he wound his arms around his   
father's chest.  
  
"And I love you, Son." Vader said, hugging his child to himself.  
  
The Jedi would pay dearly, Luke promised himself. No one had the right to hurt   
his father, to make him think that he was at fault. No one could do this to   
him, except their master of course. He himself was going to dare ask if he and   
Mara could be assigned to the Jedi cases now. He could feel that he would be   
able to help his father if he were allowed to. Behind them, Luke felt his   
friend's curiosity about the scene that was unfolding less than a meter away   
from her. His father disentangled himself from him and straightened.   
  
"I will be in the cockpit," he told him coolly, implicitly informing him that he   
would leave him alone with his partner for a while.  
  
"Okay," both Luke and Mara answered lightly.   
  
The dark lord silently exited the small cabin.  
  
"You know," Mara began, turning toward him, "having a family seems like a very   
nice experience," she commented thoughtfully.  
  
"It is." Luke agreed. "And, it isn't the same thing to have a real family than   
a fake one. I was never as close to my guardians as I am to my father...   
perhaps my aunt... but certainly not my uncle," he commented, disgruntled.  
  
"I don't doubt it after what you told me about him. Was he really this mean to   
you?" she inquired seriously.  
  
Luke hopped down from his bunk and onto the other one to sit beside her. She   
turned toward him.   
  
"Yes and no," he admitted. "He was just very cold, very demanding, and never   
satisfied. He never showed me much care while I was with them, and he never   
hesitated to punish me if I disobeyed him," he told her wistfully as he   
remembered the past. "At least, Father showed care for me, even when he was my   
'master'. He gave me more than Owen ever gave me," he finished seriously,   
earnestly.  
  
Mara nodded in agreement. "I can understand the comparison, but I am just   
beginning to understand what a family is about," she told him, applying a new   
bacta patch to her burn.   
  
"What do you mean?" he frowned slightly.  
  
His friend sigh sadly. "I wasn't with my real parents when the Emperor saved   
me. They had abandoned me and those other people were simply 'grooming' me   
until I was old enough to be sold for a good price. I simply can't say how my   
parents were," she sighed again, this time in resignation.  
  
"It's sad," Luke tried to comfort her, "You were truly lucky to be found by the   
master then."  
  
"Yes I was," she agreed. "But while he is a good guardian, he is not a father,"   
she pointed out glumly, casting her eyes down as if in regret to have said her   
last words.  
  
"Well," Luke sighed, leaning back on his hands and trying to lighten the mood of   
the suddenly heartrending discussion. "if you look on the positive side, Mara,   
you don't have a weak heart like I do," he commented lightly.  
  
She raised her small eyebrows in confusion. "Weak heart?"  
  
"Every time I am separated from my father," he explained. "I miss him. I   
really, really miss him," he added wistfully. "And, no matter how I try to   
harden myself, my heart is still my weakness. You don't have any flaws, my   
friend," he told her in envy, touching her shoulder with his hand.   
  
"Well," she smirked, letting him draw her out of her blue mood. "I have to   
disagree with you since I am currently nursing the result of such a weakness."   
  
Luke returned her smirk. "We'll just have to work harder on that," he nudged   
her with the knuckle of his left index.  
  
"Count on it," she returned.   
  
While they held their gaze for a little longer, Luke reflected that they had   
truly developed the automatism to learn from their mistake now; they never   
whined over them. He knew that it had served them right up to now and he could   
see that his friend would do everything she could to prove it useful once more.  
He watched her as she dropped her patch and tried to wrap her forearm in a   
bandage. He knew that she wanted to do everything on her own, but when she   
failed her first attempt, he decided to help her.   
  
Wordlessly, he took the two ends of the bandage and began to expertly wrap her   
arm with it.   
  
"I could do it, you know?" she told him, obviously irked.   
  
"I know," he acquiesced. "I'm just saving you time."  
  
"Right."  
  
"Besides, I owe you one for tending my back after that near miss back home," he   
reminded her.  
  
"Right..." she conceded, somewhat grudgingly. She 'had' patched him up when he   
had gotten hurt during a zero-gs simulation.   
  
"You know," Luke began thoughtfully, coming back on their previous topics. "I   
prefer to be with my father, even if we are often apart, then to have a family   
like the princess's. She is our age, yet she can't even think on her own," he   
explained in despise. "They are still telling her what to do. I prefer my   
independence," he stated seriously.  
  
"I think I prefer being alone," Mara told him in a similar fashion.  
  
"Yeah. Solitude fortifies one's soul," Luke agreed as he finished the bandage.   
"Although... personally, if I could, I would like to have a pet," he admitted   
wistfully.  
  
"A pet?" his friend asked her, bemused.  
  
"Yeah, a small, cuddly animal that you can pet and play with when you want to...   
I know it's not worthy of an Imperial servant but..."  
  
"Then why would you want one?" Mara asked.   
  
Luke sighed and ran his hand in his short hair.  
  
"Because it's something I've always wanted ever since I was three. Long habits   
die hard, you know?" he smiled lamely.  
  
"Well, personally, I want what the Emperor wants, and I do not think about the   
other things," his friend told him coolly. "I know he wants the best for me   
anyway."   
  
"And that is why you are very lucky," Luke nodded, lightly nudging her good   
arm yet again. "You don't have to unlearn what you have learnt and lived. I,   
on the other hand, have to work hard on that,... especially my bad habit of   
caring..." he sighed in resignation.  
  
"Perhaps, but," she began with a smirk. "you haven't had to sleep in a small   
compartment yesterday. I have."  
  
Luke returned her smirk and jumped down from the bunk.  
  
"I'm keeping you from getting some more sleep, right? I'll let you rest," he   
told her.  
  
"Luke, wait," she apologized, "that wasn't what I meant," she said, touching his   
shoulder to keep him from leaving.  
  
"But it's still true, Jade. You do need to sleep you know?" He raised an   
eyebrow at her. "Or didn't you see yourself in a mirror? You would recognize   
the signs that we're supposed to avoid at all costs," he told her coolly.  
  
If the trainers back home saw her right now, he reflected, they would punish her   
for being puffy eyed and tired-looking. She seemed to understand this as well.  
  
"Okay, you go then. I'll get rid of those."  
  
"Excellent," he smiled shortly, then headed for the nearby door.  
  
Behind him, his friend settled in for a restful rejuvenation trance.  
  
  
  
  
Luke exited the medbay and joined his father in the cockpit. He sat in the   
copilot seat and reflexively surveyed the board. Everything was in order; they   
were a little less than ten hours away from Coruscant.   
  
"I take it that she's catching up on her sleep," his father stated from his   
seat.   
  
"Yes. She's not going to be punished, don't worry," Luke answered, then he   
hesitated slightly before saying his next sentence. "By the way, Father, sorry   
to have fallen asleep yesterday." When his father's helmeted head slowly   
turned toward him, he then hurried to ask. "Why didn't you---"   
  
His father made him fall silent by resting his gloved finger against his small   
lips.   
  
"First, Son, after making that much use of the Force, rest was more than normal,   
especially for a child of your age, and two, even if I had wanted to, I wouldn't   
have been able to rouse you. You were too deeply asleep. The best option was   
to just let you rest," he told him in his cool, modulated voice.   
  
"But you have had to carry me!" Luke defended once his father withdrew his   
finger. "A master doesn't carry a slave. You should have at least left me   
there for the night," he tried to argue.  
  
"That was out of question," his father retorted in a mildly irritated voice.   
"You have it rough enough as it is. I carried you; nobody will question it," he   
finished in a tone which meant that no other argument was welcome.  
  
Luke pursed his lips, then relented. Who was he to argue with his father   
anyway?   
  
"If you say so," he commented, subdued.   
  
A silent moment passed between them.  
  
"Are you going to stay home with me?" he asked his father even though he knew   
the answer.  
  
"No, I'm sorry. With the leads you uncovered, the Jedi hunt has started   
anew."  
  
"Do you think the master would allow Mara and I to take part to it if I asked   
him?" he queried hopefully.  
  
"You mean before finishing your training?" the dark lord asked him, turning back   
toward him, his tone of voice implicitly reminding him that they had talked   
about this before and that it was a subject best left alone with their master.  
  
Oh, right..., Luke conceded, he had forgotten about that. "Once it is done?" he   
inquired uncertainly.  
  
"This is in the future, Son, and in the future, I will be done with the Jedis,"   
his father assured him.  
  
"So it's no," Luke accepted, feeling glum.  
  
He wanted very much to help his father in this thing, he thought in frustration.   
He wanted to be at his side when he killed the hated Jedis. He wanted to kill   
them himself. He too had a personal vendetta against them. But of course, he   
was a mere child, not even a fully-trained agent; the adults couldn't risk   
endangering their plan with his mistakes, even if he was a dark Jedi already.  
It all made sense, he reminded himself, even if it didn't make it any easier for   
him to truly accept it. Glumly, he crossed his arms, sank in his seat and   
pouted slightly. It wasn't fair...  
  
  
  
  
Vader sensed his son's disappointment and mentally shook his head. The boy   
wanted so much to destroy the Jedis that he still forgot himself in the process.   
That was probably why, out of other reasons, he wasn't allowed to leave with   
him, he conceded. The child was not ready yet for this, no matter if he had   
completed the Jedi training or not. He was still a child, and too earnest for   
his own good.  
  
However, he admitted, his son's devotion to their common goal was touching. It   
meant that the boy was sharing his hatred of the Jedis, of the men who had   
separated his family before Luke's birth. His family; their family. What would   
it have been like to have Amidala with them, he wondered dimly? Would they be   
like they were today? Or would things be completely different?   
  
The boy sighed and slumped in his chair. His gaze never left the motley blue of   
hyperspace. Luke was barely eleven years old, he reminded himself, yet when he   
took on that faraway look, lost in thoughts, he looked like he was eons older.   
Even more so today than the last time he had seen him, he conceded as he   
indulged himself in a new study of his boy. Last time he had seen him, he had   
already begun to show signs of his training, but now, they were undoubtedly   
present. For the untrained eyes, his large shirt concealed his athletic shape,   
but not to him who knew him well. Every muscle that could be used in his son's   
body were now ready for action. He was also better coordinated although his   
uneven growth was slightly hampering him. Still, he smiled to himself at the   
memory of a training session between the children, the boy had adapted well to   
his changing body. He was a head taller than he remembered too. However, his   
body wasn't the only thing that had continued to grow during his absence. His   
mind was now filled with information that even a royal child such as Princess   
Leia Organa would never acquire, his constantly developing Jedi powers had now   
given him access to a source of unlimited power, wisdom and extra knowledge, and   
his intelligence allowed him to put all his abilities and knowledge together to   
please the Emperor with the results. In short, he summarized, Luke's mind and   
body were more like those of a regular sixteen-year-old teenager now, perhaps   
even eighteen... but he was still just a child he reminded himself as he   
refocused on he sight of his pouting boy.   
  
His heart truly was grounded in the present and his childhood, he noticed, with   
all the dreams, the yearnings and the impatience it meant. His training had   
taught him to not focus on them, but they were still there. He was a   
Skywalker/Vader, he smiled in fatherly pride: for him, the future wouldn't come   
fast enough.   
  
"Luke," he called gently.  
  
The boy focused on him with his serene/troubled gaze.   
  
"Come here," he invited him.  
  
At first, pride battled with his son's desire to be with his father; his   
pride lost. He walked over the chair and sat on his father's lap.   
  
"Don't worry, Son," Vader said kindly, resting his arms around his boy. "You   
will have all the time in the galaxy to live adventures with me. You are still   
only a child," he told him wisely.  
  
"I know, Father, but I----it's too long to wait," Luke pouted childishly.  
  
A true Skywalker/Vader, Vader smiled inwardly. Gods how he loved that boy, his   
son.  
  
"Yes," he conceded, more coolly than he felt, "but patience is a virtue that   
even a dark Jedi can use, Luke. The Emperor is a very patient man, and so am I.   
We wait for events to happen, just like you should wait for your time of   
recognition to come," he advised more seriously.  
  
"Some day, Father," Luke said, leaning against his father's chest. "I promise I   
will be as good a servant as you are." He craned his neck to look up at his   
father. "I will be a very powerful, invincible dark Jedi and I will make you   
and the Emperor proud of me."  
  
Vader ruffled his son's hair, hoping yet again that he could show him the smile   
that was creasing his lips at the moment.   
  
"I am already proud of you, my son... my little dark Jedi," he finished,   
wrapping his arms around the boy. "Now enough gloomy talk," he commented more   
lightly, then he began to tickle the child's ribs to change his mood.   
  
Luke jumped up, trying to draw away from his fingers, but he was unable to   
escape him of course. Besides, Vader reflected, he himself liked too much to   
hear his son laugh to make it easy for him to put an end to it.   
  
A child was made to smile and laugh, he now knew, and the best way to balance   
his boy's very serious life was to allow him to be a child once in a while.   
Hence, he made him laugh, and laugh, and laugh until he begged for mercy. After   
that, they sat together and silently watched hyperspace fly by them, content to   
be together for the moment.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
It took Luke and his friend almost another year to complete the training, a year   
during which they alternated between missions, learning new skills, living on   
different planets for a while to practice their survival skills, and more. After   
a long while, the two children wondered if it would ever end...  
  
But finally, it was time to report to the Emperor and wait for his final   
decision.   
  
  
  
  
The children waited in the corridor, nervous despite the fact that they knew   
that the outcome of the meeting could only be positive. Their trainers had   
taught them their whole curriculum and they themselves had faced down anything   
that they had thrown at them during the final tests.   
  
They were ready and they knew it. They could crack, reprogram and take   
advantage of any kind of computer system, they could use any kind of weapon from   
blasters to planetary defense systems, they could blend in any civilization in   
the galaxy as well as spy on them without ever being detected, and they could   
pilot anything that could fly, move on the ground, skim the water or any other   
possibility of transport. They could also kill any kind of being in less than   
ten seconds with little more than their hands and feet, no matter what species   
they were.  
  
Yes, Luke admitted, he could feel, deep inside him, that they were worthy to   
serve their master now, not just on sparse mission but as regular spies. He   
threw a look at his friend, saw that she was sharing his opinion, and refocused   
on the floor.  
  
They were finally summoned in the throne room. They walked inside, Luke   
following Mara as if he were her assigned slave. They noticed that the guards   
had left the room; they were alone with their master--- and his father, he   
realized in delight when his father dropped his shield. He hadn't thought that   
he would be present for their final report; the last he had heard about him, he   
had been stuck in a small guerilla-afflicted zone, chasing a few remaining,   
straggling Jedis while trying to keep the locals from destroying Imperial   
material.  
  
He raised his head and walked proudly beside his friend. They knelt together.  
  
"Rise, children," their master said, himself getting to his feet. "I have had   
word that you have completed the training," he told them with a touch of pride   
in his voice.  
  
"Yes, Master," the children bowed.  
  
"With honors, I shall mention. Congratulations, both of you," he smiled   
slightly, standing in front of the two children.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"From now on," he began, resting his spindly hands on the children's heads, "you   
will be my ghosts, my hands, my will. I nominate you Emperor's Hands," he told   
them solemnly.  
  
Luke stood tall, like a good imperial servant. Beside him, his friend beamed   
with pride. He flicked a very quick glance in his father's direction. He was   
glowing with pride and contentment. Luke reveled in the thought that this was   
the greatest day of his life.  
  
  
  
  
Less than half an hour later, he was following his father again, pretending to   
be his slave once again. However, both needed to talk to each other, so they   
entered a small room where they would be able to take a break from their parody.  
His father turned toward him and crouched to be at his level; he set his hands   
on his shoulders. Luke knew that he wouldn't hug him, they hadn't done that for   
a while now, after the Emperor had strained the point that such behavior only   
weakened him. Hence, ever since his father had come back from his most   
important victory against the Jedis, namely the destruction of their secret   
rendezvous point, they had decided that they would be less effusive to   
demonstrate their care for one another.   
  
His father spoke, bringing him back to the present.  
"I am so very proud of you, Luke. Do you realize the honor that is yours   
today?" he asked him seriously.  
  
"Yes, I do, Father," he answered proudly. "It also means that I am on the right   
path to be one day recognized by him, doesn't it?"  
  
"That it does," the older Vader nodded. "And it also means that even if we   
don't hunt the very last Jedis together, we will still work together, if from a   
distance."  
  
"I know. This is the greatest day of my life, Father. I mean, since you freed   
me of course," he added with a shy smile.  
  
"And The only other time I felt as proud as I do today was on that day, Son,"   
his father commented warmly. "Now, what do you want to do to celebrate your   
nomination?" he asked him seriously.  
  
Luke took a moment to consider, then a sly grin curved his lips.   
  
"I have an idea," he told his father. "If you're up to it, 'Dad'," he finished,   
teasing his father with a moniker he rarely used except when he wanted to make   
him feel like he 'had' to show him what he could still do despite his older age.  
  
As always, his father rose to the challenge, but not before a light rebuke about   
his chosen address.  
  
  
  
  
Ten minutes later, he found out that his father was indeed up to his challenge.   
Both of them soared above the water in their TIEs, pulled stunts that had never   
been seen before; they skimmed the surface of the small sea every time they   
came out of their loops, then kicked up again to regain altitude. Luke had to   
restrain himself from whooping in delight, but it was okay. He was flying with   
his father and they were challenging each other to mimic each other's moves;   
they were having a great time together. It was almost as thrilling as flying in   
combat with him, or among the stars, something which, he reminded himself, he   
would soon be doing on a very regular basis. He couldn't wait to soar among the   
stars in the service of his master. At last, he thought seriously, he would be   
useful for real.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
A few kilometers away from the place where the Vaders were displaying their   
flying skills, the Emperor sat in his throne, tracking the two fighters with his   
eyes despite the distance. He had tried to delay the moment when the boy would   
come one step closer from being able to fight alongside his father, but his   
trainers had completed the curriculum, and even his brightest counselors hadn't   
been able to come up with any new 'requirement' that he could force on the   
children.  
  
Even more important, he conceded as he fastened his yellow gaze on the boy's   
ship, the twelve-year-old children were now more apt to face down anything that   
crossed their path than any other agent he had in his service at the moment. He   
knew exactly how he could use these unique assets, but... he conceded, he had   
meant to rid the boy of his disgusting good heart before freeing him from his   
necessity to 'study'. Even now, he could feel his and Vader's happiness, not   
just satisfaction, but happiness to be together and successful; he could feel   
the spot of lights that were piercing their dark personas. Oh, he conceded, the   
Light was very diffuse, and only showing up when they were together, but he was   
still worried of the consequences if it managed to corrupt his hard work of   
entrapping those two in the Dark Side.   
  
Still, he thought coldly, the boy and his father were still under his perfect   
control, both were now totally devoted to him to retain his favors, and the boy   
was still young enough to be molded further. And, he added with a machiavellian   
smile, he knew exactly how he could make the boy's Light falter forever.  
  
Even more than Mara Jade, the boy would kill for him.   
  
  
  
  
  
Continued in part 7: the Destroyers  
  
Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)   
(Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff won't even be read.) 


	7. Part 7: the Destroyers

Luke Vader: From Slave to Dark Lord of the Sith   
Part 7: The Destroyers  
By SJ 15-10-00/12-12-00  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: None of this belong to me; everything in the Star Wars Universe   
belongs to George Lucas.   
See my home page for more details.   
Http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
  
__________________  
  
  
  
  
Five months had gone by since Luke Vader and his friend had graduated; five   
months during which they had served the Emperor as best as they could. They had   
never displeased him, nor were they going to displease him now, Luke reflected   
as he silently pressed himself against his chosen column of metal.   
  
He bent his arm to bring his blaster to shoulder level, then reached out to   
check on his target; it still hadn't moved from its position. Carefully, he   
peeked around the edge of the column, slowly aiming at the form of his target as   
it came into view. Silently, he stepped around the column and prepared for the   
kill. He pulled the trigger.  
  
Jade had already rolled out of the way and was aiming her own blaster at him.  
Solely relying on his reflexes, he blocked her first bolt with the Force, then   
flipped sideways to avoid another hit. Before she could fire again though, he   
fired four quick shots her way, forcing her back into cover behind a column.   
He didn't give her time to catch her breath and immediately sought her out,   
rendering her cover-less once more. She didn't freeze in fear; instead, she   
dove away, whirled around and returned his intense fire around his legs.   
  
Luke scampered all over the place, stepping away from the sizzling bolts mere   
nano-seconds before they hit him while, he tracked the girl with his own   
repetitive fire, trying to hit his mark. Five other shots and he cartwheeled   
away from her aim while keeping up his own fire. While he was in mid motion,   
though her bolts grazed the soles of his boots; he bent his supporting arm and   
dropped to the steel floor, then instantly rolled sideways and away from her   
tracking fire before he flipped back to his feet.  
  
"You're not winning this time, Luke," she commented him as he ran away from her   
fire--- then he flipped backward over a bolt.   
  
"You ain't either, Jade," he bantered back, landing near her and opening fire on   
her.   
  
It was her turn to be on the run.  
  
And so it went for nearly twenty minutes; both children tried to hit a mark   
while skillfully avoiding the other's accurate aim, but neither ever managed to   
hit that mark.   
  
The weapon in his hand was hot; he knew it was a bad sign. He had to change   
weapon or else burn himself, but at the same time, he couldn't stop firing or   
Mara would hit him. Reaching a decision, he continued to exchange fire with his   
friend while avoiding her own fire, then, just as he fired the last bolt of   
energy that his weapon could produce, Luke drew his other weapon from his back   
and continued his attack/defense with a fresh weapon without breaking his   
rhythm.   
  
So did Mara.   
  
Neither managed to hit anything except the walls, floor and columns.  
  
Since their weapons weren't designed for a sustained use such as the one they   
were pulling on them, their second blaster also reached a 'dry' state another   
fifteen minutes later, but the children were far from done; neither of them had   
won a point yet.   
  
Luke rolled out of the way as a small metallic star embedded itself on the   
Floor where he had been, then he whipped out his own knives and threw them at   
his friend. While she avoided them, he jumped back to his feet and narrowed the   
distance between them. He meant to surprise her by hitting her neck while she   
was still unbalanced, but she knew him better than that. She let herself fall   
on the floor, square in his legs.   
  
  
  
Mara winced as she landed almost on her friend's feet, but the tactic served her   
purpose. Her friend toppled over her and fell down. She hurried to pin him to   
the floor before he could recover his complete alertness. He would have to work   
on his landings, she noted. She pinned his wrists on each side of his head   
while pinning his hips so that he couldn't pull his legs up to pull her off of   
him.   
  
"I win, flyboy," she smiled victoriously.   
  
Just like she would have, had she been in his position, he tested her hold   
before relenting.   
  
"Sure, but next time, I won't fall for your tricks," he informed her seriously   
while catching his breath.  
  
"I'll make sure you don't fall again, my friend," she answered him between two   
pants, letting him go.   
  
She herself left her seat on his hips and chose a spot on the floor, then   
proceeded to bring her breath to a more normal rate while she pulled her sweaty   
locks out of her eyes. She had won today, yes, but only because he hadn't   
mastered his landings yet. Otherwise, he would have been a tough adversary.   
He was growing stronger and faster than she was and unfortunately, she couldn't   
do anything in this area to catch up with him.  
  
He was a boy and she was a girl. She flicked her stray hair out of her sweaty   
brows once again, then refocused on her friend.  
  
"What now?" she asked him.  
  
Like herself, he was catching his breath. They were both breathing fast and   
felt quite comfortable in their sitting or laying positions. That had been one   
of their most demanding work out ever.   
  
"I loaded the data about the armors. We could study them here," he   
suggested, calling his utility bag to his hand.   
  
"Okay. I think we should try to remain inconspicuous tomorrow night," she   
reflected out loud.  
  
"Yeah, I agree. We were good here, but we don't need to look for this kind of   
trouble during the mission."  
  
"Exactly. So, what does it say?" she asked him as she moved closer to him.  
  
He showed her his activated datapad.   
  
"Their armors are vulnerable to beta-7 energy bolts," he read out loud. "Any   
other frequency doesn't pierce them."  
  
"Okay. They'll be expecting the enemies to wear standard armor. What can we   
select to surprise them?.." she wondered out loud.  
  
The two children mentally checked all their options.   
  
"How about the Zephyrian shells?" Luke offered. "It's invulnerable to almost   
anything and light enough to be worn by a shock trooper."  
  
"Yeah, or else, the Caalan design," she suggested. "It allows a lot of mobility   
if needed and it has a high ratio of resistance to high-energy bolts."  
  
Luke took a moment to think about her suggestion, then searched in his bag and   
drew out another pad.   
  
"Here, write this down. I don't want to forget it," he told her.  
  
"Me neither," she agreed as she began to type in her idea.   
  
As they continued to work on their planning, and that both of them typed down   
their most clever ideas, Mara admitted that her friend had an interesting way to   
consider his options. While she herself was always thinking in term of   
efficiency, he was thinking in terms of dangerousness for the enemy. Together,   
they made up excellent plans and they both knew it... and so did their master,   
she reminded herself. He was still letting them work together, something   
totally unheard of in the rest of the spying ranks. As she gazed at her friend   
lost in thoughts, she admitted that being matched with Luke Vader as a partner   
had spoiled her; she couldn't imagine not having a partner anymore. She really   
preferred team work to individual work now. She refocused on their task.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Three months later, the children were still together, still hidden from   
everybody but Luke's father and their master.   
  
At the moment, they were en route for another mission, this time on a dreary   
moon-like natural satellite. While Mara was catching up on her sleep, Luke sat   
in the piloting chair of their small shuttle, keeping an eye on the instruments.   
He pulled his legs up and wrapped his arms around his knees, allowing himself a   
moment of relaxation before their mission. How he liked being in space, he   
thought wistfully. Whether he was flying in a fighter or a shuttle, he never   
wanted that moment to end. He literally felt at home when he was amongst the   
stars. He knew that his real name was Skywalker, but like his father, he   
preferred Vader. However, he conceded that Skywalker was saying something about   
his true nature. Sky Walker... A walker in the Sky... a pilot. A Jedi pilot.   
This was what his life was supposed to be and he knew it. Moreover, he admitted   
seriously, he couldn't deny it, even if he had wanted to. The pull of the   
stars, of the shifting patters of hyperspace was too clear in him to deny it.   
And if he hadn't met his father, he began more grimly... if that cursed Kenobi   
had won... he wouldn't be a pilot, he fumed as his anger grew in him. The Jedi   
had done everything he could to ruin his life; he deserved to die, he mentally   
spat in disgust. If only he could kill him, he thought darkly, images of how he   
would attack and destroy the Jedi roaming freely in his head. How proud he   
would be to capture his lightsaber and present it to his master and father...   
but he couldn't, he reminded himself. He was bound to obey his master, and his   
master wanted Kenobi alive. He had promised him that he would be allowed to   
kill him someday; his master always kept his promise, he reminded himself   
sternly so he would patiently wait for his permission. It was his duty.   
He spent the rest of his shift gazing at the shifting pattern of hyperspace.  
  
  
  
  
Time to roll, Mara thought as she finished concealing her different weapons on   
herself. On the other side of the hold, her friend did the same thing before   
checking his stealth speeder bike. She herself finished with her new   
lightsaber, fastening it to her belt. Unlike her friend, she couldn't hope to   
deflect a blaster bolt with it, but she now knew how to manipulate the long   
blade to cut through 'anything'.  
  
"Ready?" he asked her, turning on his engine.  
  
"Yes. Have you rechecked the location of the base?"   
  
"Three miles south of here, in the mountains," he told her.   
  
Unlike the first times when she had asked him the information anew, her partner   
remained calm and serene, aware now that it could only help them to be perfect   
if they asked each other those kind of questions.   
  
"Let's get this over with," he smiled grimly.  
  
She could only agree with him. The small docking bay of their ship opened up   
and they swiftly revved their engines. One after the other, they left their   
concealed ship and silently flew toward their target who was unaware that he was   
living his last hour.  
  
  
  
Since the base was located high in the mountain, they made sure to remain in the   
blind spots of their surveillance network. Once at the foot of the mountain   
range, they found small, convenient caves to hide their speeder bikes, then   
pulled out their climbing equipment and began their ascension. Carefully yet   
swiftly, they made their way upward. Luke constantly scanned the rocks to   
detect any alarm system. Fifty meters above the ground, they began to run into   
some of them; they took some extra time to reach a safer place to continue their   
climb.   
  
Finally, they reached their target's level, then location. They crouched low,   
careful to remain out of sight. Guards were patrolling around the strange   
construction which reminded Luke of a tavern more than a base. Since the young   
spies knew that the guards had to report every twenty minutes, they didn't   
kill them right away; instead, they waited for their attentions to drift away   
from a shadowy area of the courtyard, then ran as fast as they could from their   
hiding spot to the side wall that was pressed close to the surrounding rocky   
wall of the mountain.   
  
*Cover me.* Mara sent to Luke as she turned toward the wall and scanned it for a   
place to carve a hole.   
  
She found it in the middle of the long wall; it was the storage room. The other   
rooms around it were full of people, but above it, it was deserted. It was   
exactly what they needed, she reflected. Their target was located on the second   
floor.   
  
Twenty seconds later, she closed up her shortened lightsaber, reset its length,   
then pushed the carved concrete inside. Her friend reached out with the Force   
and kept it from making too much noise when it landed on the floor. She was the   
first inside the small room. Another hole later and they were on the second   
floor of the refuge.   
  
*He's in the rooms at the end of the corridor,* Luke sent her.  
  
*With five guards between him and us,* Mara added.   
  
*Let's get closer.*  
  
They silently crept closer to the adults' presences, planting bombs every five   
meters on their way toward them. Once they didn't have anymore bombs to hide,   
they kept their blasters and other weapons handy; an alien, dart-throwing weapon   
for Mara and knives for Luke.   
  
*Ready?* she asked him as they came up on a junction which led to a guarded   
corridor.  
  
Luke silently nodded, then they both pushed themselves against the far wall of   
new the corridor, surprising the unwary guards with their sudden appearance;   
Luke covered the higher targets while Mara took care of the lower ones. Two   
breaths later, it was over.   
  
They hurried to reach the now unguarded room where their target was having a   
meeting with his chief-councilors.   
  
*Cover me,* Mara sent Luke.   
  
The door had barely opened when they both tumbled inside the room, stunning   
their target with their appearance. Mara immediately set her sight on the   
leader while Luke focused on the two other men. Seconds later, she set about   
stealing the information which she had to retrieve from her victim, Luke covered   
their backs and closed the room---- when an unfortunate man stepped inside the   
room. He shared his companions' fate.  
  
*Time to go,* Mara sent Luke, already working on their chosen way out.  
  
The boy Force-retrieved his weapon before joining her, then they initiated the   
bombs' count down, giving themselves fifteen seconds to leave the building.   
Once the courtyard was fairly deserted, they jumped down from their perch, using   
the Force to lighten their landing. They had ten seconds left. The moment that   
they touched the ground, they instantly ran away from the doomed building.   
Unfortunately for them, some alien with a very sharp eyesight spotted them and   
gave the alarm. Having no choice but to kill those people, Luke and Mara turned   
in mid-run and returned their fire.   
  
Five seconds to go.  
  
They ran as fast as they could, perfectly aware that if they hadn't cleared a   
certain area, they were goners too. They neared the edge of the landing, now   
ignoring the new blaster bolts that were tracking them.  
  
Three--- two---  
  
They jumped as far as they could, literally flying in the air--- The pirate's   
base, as well as the whole side of the mountain, burst up in a blinding display   
of fireworks. The two young Hands landed on the nearest, smaller rocky   
formation, then resumed their run to avoid being too close to the explosion.   
Behind them, a second conflagration put the final touch to their complete   
annihilation of their target's base. A sizzling rock tried to catch up with   
Mara; Luke felt it and shielded her back. She wordlessly thanked him by   
grabbing his hand and urging him onward. They slid down a very steep slope as a   
third explosion resounded in the distance.  
  
When quiet returned to the mountain range, the children were already half-done   
with their climb downward. Fifteen minutes later, they had called their speeder   
bikes back up to their position and were silently speeding their way back to   
their ship.   
  
  
  
They remained focused on their mission for as long as they weren't a good   
fifteen minutes safe in hyperspace. Only then did they let go of their rigid   
self-control. Luke broke their self-imposed silence.   
  
"You're lucky that I was there to watch your back," he teased her as he pulled   
his feet up on his piloting chair.  
  
"What do you mean?" she asked him while she pinned her stray hair back in place.  
  
"Well," the boy smiled teasingly, "I saved your life."  
  
Mara's eyes bulged in unwelcome surprise; she dropped her hands as she glared   
at her friend.  
  
"Did not," she stated adamantly.  
  
"Did too," Luke argued playfully.  
  
"Did not."  
  
"I even did it twice," he smugly pointed out.  
  
"Only once," Jade defended proudly. "That blaster---" she suddenly stopped when   
she realized what she had just said.  
  
"See?" Luke crowed as he mockingly raised his chin in pride. "Told ya that you   
needed me to watch over you."  
  
Beaten, the girl crossed her arms in frustration and pouted.  
  
"I still don't need you to watch my back," she muttered unhappily.  
  
"Sure," he retorted in playful self-satisfaction, "you just need to work on your   
focus," he ribbed her.  
  
Mara's face now matched her hair. For a moment, Luke expected her to jump at   
his throat... but just to prove him that she didn't need to work on her focus   
because it was already excellent, she restrained herself.  
  
*I'll have my revenge some other way, flyboy,* she sent him angrily, then lapsed   
into silence once more.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
She didn't speak to him until they reached Coruscant. There, she argued with   
him to let her fly them in. Knowing how proud she was, and thus, how far he   
could push her, Luke relinquished the stick to her more than capable hands.   
The moment they began their landing, they recovered their seriousness and self-  
control, preparing themselves for their report to their master.   
  
Five minutes after they had landed in their secret docking bay, then used the   
secret corridors to reach their assigned report room which was beside the main   
throne room. There, they knelt on the floor and waited for their master's   
convenience. They didn't pay any attention to the time they spent in this   
position; it was their duty to wait after their Emperor.   
  
A long while later, he finally entered the room; the children didn't raise   
their heads, waiting for his permission to do so. The Emperor regally sat down   
in his throne.  
  
"Your report, children," he told them in his dry voice.  
  
"The traitor Vuki is dead, Master," Mara began. "He and his closest associates   
have received two bolts each in the head."  
  
Luke continued without prompting. "The base is also completely destroyed,   
Master. We used C-4 to blow it up; nobody survived the explosion."  
  
"Neither did the mountain I'd say from the images I saw, children," he   
pointed out seriously even as he activated a viewscreen which showed the said   
images of the destroyed base.  
  
"One third of it went up with the explosion, Master," Luke answered, providing   
information related to the image of their last handy-work.  
  
"And his list of contacts?" the Emperor asked.  
  
Mara produced a small data disk. "I copied all his files, Master," she   
told him as she set the disk on the floor.   
  
It flew straight into his outstretched hand.  
  
"Most excellent, children," he praised them, his pleasure more than obvious in   
his voice. "With results such as these, I shall not address you as children   
anymore. From now on, I shall code-name you: Destroyers," he smiled with a   
touch of irony in his voice.  
  
Luke and Mara bowed their heads in acceptance, then exchanged a quick, serious   
grin of understanding. That name fit their team quite well.  
  
  
  
A short while later, the Emperor sat once again in his regular throne room and   
considered his latest meeting with his young prodigies. The Destroyers, he   
smiled to himself. It was truer about the boy than the girl, he admitted   
coolly, but he hadn't been able to pass up the occasion to deepen the boy's   
involvement in the Dark Side. By acknowledging him and his friends as   
Destroyers of life, he knew that it would force the child to acknowledge himself   
as thus, hence, make him 'embrace' his dark destiny, not just accept it.  
  
No matter how much he made the boy kill for him, he then thought more seriously,   
giving him the covering duties while Jade took care of the main target, the   
child's good nature still survived, coming back the moment that he was done with   
his duty. Naturally, he sneered in despise, it had to be expected that two   
children who were constantly together would develop a genuine friendship, but he   
had to admit that he had never considered its enduring nature as possible now   
that they were active assassins. It puzzled him, yet after weighting the fors   
and againsts of the situation for the fiftieth time in the past five months, he   
decided once again to let them be for the moment. It served his purposes   
better.   
  
However, he mused unhappily, he would keep a very close eye on the boy and not   
give him leeway about his care and compassion. His feelings for his father and   
his partner were tolerable, at the most, but he wouldn't allow him to feel   
anything for anybody else, he resolved coldly. He 'would' extinguish the last   
light of the last Jedi child and turn him into his own greatest servant.  
  
******  
  
  
Meanwhile, back in their secret training rooms, the children proceeded to relax,   
clean up and file away what they had to code in regards of their last mission.  
Then, they began to prepare for their new mission.  
  
Unlike their last mission, Mara reflected as she studied the layout of the ship   
they would infiltrate, they wouldn't be on solid ground. The vacuum of space   
could either be part of the weapons, or could play against them. Lightly   
scratching her head in puzzlement, she turned her pad to study the ship from   
another angle.   
  
Their was only one sealed entrance on this design; their weren't any emergency   
traps to penetrate it without anybody being the wiser, and other than the   
engines and the ventilation ducts for the exhaust ports, the ship was sealed as   
tightly as a can of rations.  
  
Beside her, Luke shifted on his seat, then looked away, taking on that faraway   
look when he was considering their options. She was dimly aware that she was   
counting on him to solve their infiltration puzzle; even though she didn't like   
to be less good than he was, she had to admit that he was more imaginative than   
she was when it came to sticky situations. During their training, she had tried   
to outdo him in planning in strategy courses, but every time that she had come   
up with something truly great for her, he too had outdid himself, scoring higher   
than her. At first, it had greatly frustrated her, had even irate her when the   
Emperor had pointed out that strength in her friend and rebuked her for not   
having it, but she had learnt to accept it. If she were working alone, she was   
convinced that she would find other ways to accomplish her missions but she   
wasn't thinking about them at the moment because she had to think in term of a   
team, and, she added with a smug smirk, she was better than he was when it came   
to choosing the most feasible option amongst the ones he was thinking about.  
  
Finally, she suggested an idea.   
  
"I think we could space-walk around the ship," she told him as she refocused on   
the huge holo that was in front of them.  
  
"Hmm, sure..." he agreed inarticulately.  
  
"We could poison them through the ducts of their ships," she continued   
thoughtfully  
  
"Huh-uh," her friend nodded wordlessly once more.  
  
Nah, she scolded herself, they wouldn't be certain that they would kill   
everyone.  
  
"Or how about---" she began as she turned toward him, then froze in disbelief.  
  
Her companion hadn't been listening to her at all. Instead, he had been gaping   
at the far away vid set that was showing images of the young princess of   
Alderaan who had made her first appearance in the Senate building today. She   
noticed that her friend was literally mesmerized by the girl's soft-spoken voice   
as she said that she'd like to be a senator, eventually, but that for now, she   
had to continue her studies.  
  
Unable to resist the chance to rib him where it hurt, she planted her fingers in   
the curves of his hips; young Vader almost fell off of his seat in surprise.   
  
"Hey!!!!" he exclaimed "What's that for?" he whined even as he rubbed his hip.  
  
"Now who's got to work on his focus?" she teased lightly.   
  
Luke wanted to argue, she could feel it, but in the end, he seemed to consider   
otherwise and smiled lamely. He knew that she had won. Sometimes, she admitted   
playfully, he was wise.  
  
  
  
******  
  
Four months later:  
  
*Nothing new for the moment,* Luke sent his accomplice as he refilled his   
serving tray.   
  
He had infiltrated the Rodian's spa complex almost a week before, laying low   
while gathering info on his 'boss' and his clients; Mara was miles away, on a   
boat that could come to his rescue in less than five minutes if he had to leave   
the dangerous island. He was now nearing his goal, he smiled inwardly, he could   
feel it. Soon, he would get access to his target, and when he would, he would   
finally be able to eavesdrop on him for as long as he wanted. Their target was   
a big boss in a big company in the inner rim.  
  
Since their master wanted to know if he was hiding other, illegal companies,   
Luke and his companion had decided that it would be easier to find that   
information by following the big boss in his vacation spot than to hack in files   
which were perhaps non-existent. Considering that the 'spas' were a far from   
legal vacation spot, both he and Mara knew that they would find the answers to   
their questions, if only he himself could get in the private stall the target   
was in, he thought in dark frustration. Up to now, they hadn't called on a   
slave's service except twice, and Luke had been beaten by another boy both   
times. But next time, it would be his turn, he promised himself.   
  
He remained near the target's location, serving the other patrons while keeping   
an eye on the calling signal. As he served the men who were lounging in the hot   
waters or mud, he reflected that if he could, he would kick all those deprived,   
pro-slave beings senseless, leaving them to drown in their vats, but that wasn't   
his mission, he sternly reminded himself. His mission was to get close to the   
president of New-Icom.  
  
The calling button of the private room finally glowed. Luke hurriedly   
disentangled a drunken alien's disgusting tentacle from around his arm and   
rushed toward the door. The other boy almost beat him to it.  
  
'Not this time,', Luke thought darkly.  
  
He sent an invisible bar through the boy's legs, thus making him trip. The   
other kid fell into a pool, attracting the spa's owner unwanted attention.   
Meanwhile, Luke answered the call, took the special order, then, after getting   
it, entered the first room. The guards scanned him for any harmful device, then   
allowed him to enter the private room.   
  
The humidity was choking, Luke reflected, but he focused past it.   
  
"Ah, at last, what kept you, boy?" his target asked.   
  
As he walked closer, Luke reflected that the man looked nicer with than without   
hair.   
  
"I'm sorry, masters. I hope this will be to your liking," he apologized humbly,   
then moved to exit the room.  
  
He sent a small tendril of Force into the president's mind.   
  
"Wait, wait, wait, you aren't leaving us already. It takes darn too long to be   
served here; you stay here," he ordered.   
  
Luke bowed his head in acceptance, then retreated in a corner of the room. He   
then listened to everything the man said about: from his wife he didn't like   
anymore to his pet cryats who were eating each other, the man babbled on as if   
he were unable to stop talking... then his friends asked him about his company,   
or rather, the companies Luke didn't know about until now. Their master had   
been right, he smiled inwardly.   
  
Traffic of spice... from transformation to package... Ship yards he wasn't   
paying taxes for... Slave market... Illegal casinos, etc. Miles away, on the   
boat, Mara overheard everything through their mental link and compiled   
everything on a pad before she contacted their master.   
  
His orders came as quite simple: kill the man and make it look as a warning.   
In other words, he reflected as he considered his options, he had to be   
'spotted', kind of, but leave them in turmoil. Well that wouldn't be a problem,   
he mentally smirked darkly as he waited on the soon-to-be-dead man.  
  
  
  
When he finished his shift, late at night, he went to the slave's quarters, then   
disappeared in the shadows. There, he exited the place the same way he had   
entered it, then retrieved his gear from its hiding place, high in the rocky   
walls. He quickly suited up, then checked his weapons.   
  
*I'm going in,* he warned his friend.   
  
*Watch your back,* she warned him.   
  
Luke ran around the small cliff side of the beach on which the spa was located,   
then climbed up when he found a discreet place to reach the higher part of the   
cliff.   
  
Naturally, the president's guards were patrolling the area, but it didn't cause   
Luke any problem. He patiently waited for them to be out of his sight, then he   
ran closer to a tree and jumped. A walk down a sturdy branch later and he was   
into the rented house. The moment he entered it, he checked with his senses:   
two guards in the corridor. Carefully, he opened the door, then threw himself   
down and opened fire. Seconds later, he jumped back to his feet and crept   
inside the room where the man was, also dispatched him, then waited for the   
other guards to come and check that everything was okay; he had no doubt that   
they had heard his blaster shots. While he waited for them, he prepared his   
escape route. Perfect.   
  
When they finally came up, he threw his daggers, forcing them back under cover   
while leaving his 'warning' via one of them, then he jumped through the nearby   
window and down onto the mossy ground. There, he ran as fast as he could toward   
the nearest cliff and the waiting sea. Blaster bolts tracked him all the way to   
the edge---- and a fast runner of a man began to catch up with him. Luke poured   
more speed into his already singing muscles.  
  
Just as Luke had reached his destination, the enemy tackled him down to the   
ground. The boy reflexively rolled with the impact, thus making them tumble   
over the edge; he and the man fell down toward the tumultuous waters. While he   
was falling, the young dark Jedi landed a few good, judicious hits with his   
elbows and head, thus freeing himself from the struggling man to be able to flip   
and dive into the mildly cold waters instead of falling in it like the other man   
would. After all, he quickly thought as he shifted his position, he had no   
intention to break his neck.  
  
He entered the water with nothing more than a splash, then began to swim away   
from his actual location. He suddenly felt danger and whirled around. The   
other man wasn't dead.   
  
Luke blocked his first attempt to slash at him with a knife, missed the second   
cut that swiped a rather deep gouge in his shin, then kicked him hard in the   
face with the heel of his boot, then again with his other foot. Finally, he   
pulled the knife to himself with the Force and finished the man. He then   
hurried to leave the area before his and his victim's blood could attract the   
predators of the area.   
  
He finally broke the surface, took a deep breath as he removed his hood and   
mask, spotted his safe heaven, then resumed pulling water, pointedly ignoring   
the lancing pain in his leg.   
  
  
  
Mara heard him as well as felt him swim closer and closer. She waited for him   
to be safely aboard before turning on the engines to their full capabilities.   
  
"Did they get the warning?" she asked him.  
  
"Yes," Luke nodded as he used one of their towels to stop the bleeding on his   
shin.   
  
"Good."   
  
They silently sped away, progressing much faster than any radar could hope to   
track.  
  
  
  
******  
  
Six months later:   
  
Lord Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, right arm of the galactic Emperor as well as   
most dreaded killer of Jedis rarely felt tired to the bones, but tonight, he   
did. He had finally caught up with his two targets, somewhere on a way, way   
backwater planet. It had been yet another months-long chase which had been   
interrupted by pacifying operations here and there. He himself personally   
referred to them as being quieting missions, but the Emperor didn't like the   
underlying meaning of this expression so he kept it for himself.  
  
After all, he mentally mimicked his master's righteous sneer, they were merely   
bringing them the much desired, even wanted Imperial Peace. Desired, Vader   
sneered slightly, he had his doubts about that, but he had to concede that he   
sometimes had to resort to violent means to keep the confused citizens from   
destroying themselves via their chaos. As he always said, he conceded, the end   
always justified the means he used to reach it. Still, as far as innocents were   
concerned, he admitted that he preferred to resort to other means than violent   
ones.   
  
He didn't have such qualms when it came to Jedis though; they had destroyed   
both him and his family, had almost orphaned his son, and even now that they   
were together, they were still managing to keep them apart. They deserved what   
he was doing to them, he decided darkly.  
  
He entered his library where he knew his son was hiding, well more like   
avidly devouring yet another book, he amended, but given the size of the room,   
any commoner would have to search him out to find him.  
  
Two minutes later, he found him, comfortably ensconced in a leather-covered   
reading chair that was on one of the balconies which were surrounding his actual   
location on the main floor. He dimly noted that he was in the mechanics section   
of the balcony. Since he had managed to catch him unaware, he continued to hide   
his presence, thus having one rare opportunity to study his thirteen-year-old   
son without his being aware of it. He had always been curious to know how his   
son was behaving when he was alone at home... and now he could see it for   
himself.  
  
He wasn't that different from when he was with him, he reflected, just a trifle   
more relaxed. Right now, he was chewing at his lower lip, obviously trying to   
register what he was reading. He was dressed casually with ample clothes, but   
Vader could see that he was even more in shape then the last time he had seen   
him, almost four months ago now. He also knew that he had turned thirteen while   
he had been away. Up on the balcony, the boy slightly shifted in his seat,   
thus exposing his arm... and his latest serious injury which now secluded him   
home until he was healed.  
  
The Emperor's report hadn't lied, Vader realized; his son had gravely injured   
his arm. On the other hand, he reflected in fatherly pride, the youth had taken   
very good care of his wound since even bacta treatment wouldn't have resealed   
his tissues this fast. He smiled inwardly at that. The boy was improving. He   
had already known that, thanks to his constant successes, but it wasn't the same   
thing to merely be aware of the fact and to see it for real.   
  
Up on the balcony, Luke dropped his pad on his lap, closed his eyes before   
working his kinks out of his neck, then he stopped and snapped his eyes open.  
They became alight with delight when he realized that he was being observed by   
him.  
  
"Father!" he exclaimed joyfully as he jumped to his feet.  
  
Before Vader had initiated any action, his son had used his unharmed arm to   
vault over the railing of the balcony. He landed a few feet away from his, his   
feet slightly spread apart for balance, then quickly covered the short distance   
that was separating them. He didn't throw himself in his arms, of course, but   
Lord Vader could feel his very strong temptation to do so.  
  
"When did you come back?" he asked eagerly.  
  
"I just landed," he reassured him, knowing that his son didn't like to loose   
one single minute of his presence on planet. "I wanted to surprise you,"   
he admitted.  
  
His son smirked while blushing ruefully. "Well you've succeeded," he nodded   
reluctantly.  
  
Vader knew that being caught unaware normally was almost a crime for an agent,   
even more so for a Hand, but this time, he had purposefully hidden his very   
existence from his boy to be able to observe him at his leisure.  
  
"Don't berate yourself for this, Luke," he gently scolded him. "Let me take a   
look at you instead," he added more seriously.  
  
"You mean that you haven't done so already?" the young teenager asked him wryly   
as he turned sideways to give him a better look at his wound.  
  
Vader delicately took hold of the injured limb and gazed at it.  
  
"What happened?" he asked him.  
  
"A moment of inattention while I was shrugging off a stun bolt," his son   
admitted shamefully.  
  
"Was it the first time that you had to do that?" the dark lord asked him   
seriously, still studying the unpleasant remnant of his son's last mission.  
  
"It was the second time, but its setting was much higher than I'm used to," he   
barely defended himself.  
  
He was obviously feeling responsible for what had happened, Vader noted with a   
purse of his lips. He himself knew that Luke had no reason to think so. He   
hadn't exactly hit a wall with his skills,... merely learnt how to climb over a   
new one.  
  
"You did what you could, Son," he reassured him. "There's no need for you   
to feel bad about that accident. It wasn't a failure," he told him seriously.  
  
"But I---" Luke began to argue.  
  
"Luke," Vader sighed, setting his hand on his son's shoulder and gently guided   
him toward the nearest seats. "stopping a stun bolt is one of the most advanced   
skills there is to master," he reminded him.  
  
Luke followed him silently, attentively listening to him.  
  
"To shrug its effect off," the dark lord continued, "is a challenge in itself,   
especially for the first times. Hence to avoid an attack while doing it   
requires masterful skills," he pointed out.  
  
"Skills I don't have yet," Luke pouted as he let himself drop in an armchair.  
  
Vader shook his head in disagreement as he sat down in the next chair. "I   
wouldn't be so sure," he commented thoughtfully.  
  
Luke swiftly looked up at him, his eyes betraying his expectations of good news.  
  
"After all," he continued as if he hadn't noticed his son's yearning for   
encouragement, "you would've lost your arm if you hadn't had at least half of   
the skills we're talking about, young dark Jedi," he finished seriously,   
reminding him of his already fully trained status.  
  
As expected, his son flashed him a satisfied, almost delighted smile; Vader knew   
that he had made his point with his stubborn, sometimes too-demanding-on-himself   
teenager.  
  
"Thanks, Father," he told him gratefully, confirming his feeling.  
  
Vader reached over and affectionately ruffled his son's hair.  
  
"What wouldn't I do for my favorite son?" he asked him warmly.  
  
"Yeah right, I'm your only son," Luke reminded him teasingly.  
  
"And I missed you very much, Son," he added earnestly, suddenly remembering   
that he would soon have to return to his flagship. Too soon... he thought in   
regret.  
  
"So have I, Father," his son told him in kind, pulling him back to the present.   
"How long will you be home this time?" he queried though he knew that it   
wouldn't be for a long while.  
  
"A few weeks at most," Vader admitted. "The Emperor says that he has a new lead   
for me."  
  
"Has he said anything about my helping you?" Luke asked eagerly.  
  
He still hadn't given up on his dream to serve alongside him, he noticed,   
something which didn't exactly please the Emperor since it denoted a lack of   
absolute devotion to him in his son. He himself preferred not to bring up that   
subject with the ruler; he had enough of reassuring him about his son's caring   
nature. He himself knew that it would never cause them any problems given his   
son's integration in the imperial world and the Emperor's higher ranks, but the   
old ruler still wasn't convinced, no matter how well Luke served him. At least,   
he sighed in relief, the Emperor's wariness was just this, a feeling; he didn't   
feel the need to take measures against the boy, but, he admitted to himself, it   
did made 'him' wary about the sujbects that he chose to breach with him in   
regards of his son. He definitely preferred to not push their master about his   
son helping him.  
  
"I'm afraid not," he finally answered his son's last question.  
  
"I thought so," the boy conceded, downcast.  
  
"Don't worry, your time of recognition will come sooner than later, Son," he   
reassured him, setting his hand on his son's shoulder once again.  
  
He himself had no doubt that his son would be able to help him, but at the same   
time, he knew that he was still too impetuous to be trusted with personal   
matters like their vendetta against the Jedis, and he had yet to learn how to   
use all his old and new skills in action. He unfortunately knew that wasn't   
ready yet for a Jedi chase.  
  
Beside him, Luke kept his head bent for a few moments, then he slowly looked   
back at him.  
  
"Tell me what happened during your last mission," he asked him earnestly.  
  
At first, Vader slightly hesitated, then he acceded to his request; the Emperor   
wouldn't mind that kind of sharing since it could only drive the boy to earn his   
favor that much faster. Besides, he added to himself, the boy would still   
remained under his control. Thus, he told him how he had hunted down and killed   
four more Jedis.  
  
******  
  
To be continued in part 8: Teenagers  
  
  
  
Well, liked it?  
  
  
  
Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)   
(Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff will go to the garbage   
smasher without being read.) 


	8. Part 8: Teenagers

Luke Vader: From Slave to Dark Lord of the Sith   
Part 8: Teenagers  
By SJ 15-10-00/12-12-00  
________________  
Disclaimers: None of this belong to me; everything in the Star Wars Universe   
belongs to George Lucas.   
See my home page for more details.   
Http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
  
__________________  
  
  
  
******  
  
Fifteen months later.  
  
Today had been a good day, Mara reflected as she came out of her shower.   
She and her friend had finished to prepare their new mission, then had   
trained all the skills that they might need to bring it to completion. As   
usual, she had enjoyed the challenge to try and pin him, but today hadn't been   
exactly like usual either,   
  
Or, she amended, it hadn't been like what it used to be until a few weeks ago.   
For the past twenty-three days, she had been slightly distracted by her friend's   
sight when they were challenging each other's self-defense skills. She shook   
her head in annoyance at that thought. It was ridiculous of course; she and   
Luke had been training that way with him since they were both eight, she sternly   
rebuked herself. She was used to feeling his body against hers, she reminded   
herself. It wasn't the first time that she managed to straddle his hips and pin   
him to the floor... but it was somehow different now, she shyly admitted.   
Instead of focusing on how he was straining to free himself... she constantly   
found herself mesmerized by his eyes, by the strength that was exuding from his   
harder and harder body which was pressed against her seemingly soft one.   
Perhaps she just saw him too often, she reflected without conviction. After   
all, she continued to convince herself, they were 'always' together and they   
were both beginning to feel the tensions of what was known as teenage-hood   
throughout the galaxy. Perhaps it was natural and nothing to worry about, she   
tried to comfort herself.  
  
Her only relief, she then reflected with a mental sigh, was that it only   
happened with him; nobody else managed to even get her interest, even when she   
was with the Emperor's courtesans. Were she softening toward boys and men, she   
'knew' that the situation would repeat itself in the Emperor's court, but it   
never did, much to her satisfaction. Whatever 'it' was, it was only related to   
her best friend and partner.  
  
However, she sobered slightly, it seemed to also attack him, but she could only   
tell because she knew him almost as well as she knew herself. Otherwise, he was   
doing an A job of hiding it from her. Perhaps they were just getting too used   
to their routines and they would have to change it, she thought seriously, then   
made a note to discuss this with her friend as she finished to put on her   
clothes.  
  
She finally exited her private 'fresher--- and stopped short at the sight of the   
object of her thoughts. The strange feeling she had tried to rationalize just   
moments before returned full strength to attack her, stilling her as her eyes   
slowly traveled up and down her best friend's back.   
  
He was watching the news channel; his hair were still damp from his own shower   
and his body tight trousers wonderfully took care to enhance the slim shape of   
his hips. Not that the fourteen-year-old teenager had ever been overweighed,   
she reflected with a shy smile, but, like her, he was very well-trained and his   
developed shoulders made him look slightly slimmer than he truly was. She for   
one decided that she would never complain about that particularity of his young   
body and she dimly hoped that he would always maintain that shape.   
  
Totally oblivious to her presence, Luke removed his towel from his shoulders and   
planted his fists on his hips as bad news came on. Unbeknown to him, this   
simple position brought out almost every single muscle that could show itself to   
her eyes.   
  
She gaped, mesmerized, until she caught herself and shook her head in annoyance.   
Darn it, what was it? It wasn't the first time that she was seeing him this   
Way; she had even tended him when he had gotten the different scars she could   
see on his skin. Why in heck was she feeling so dry-mouthed at his sight?, she   
asked herself in growing frustration. She then admitted that her friend   
certainly was better looking than many more men she had had the displeasure to   
meet she had become active in her role of young courtesan, but still, he wasn't   
a new sight either, she scolded herself. However, she kept gazing at him, and   
the more she did so, the more the answer to her question, then even the question   
eluded her.  
  
Meanwhile, the object of her fascination relaxed and dropped his hands to his   
sides. Surprised and slightly disappointed, she looked up to see what had   
caused such a change of attitude.   
  
'What a surprise.' she smirked in mild disgust. A still of young Princess Leia   
was on the screen; the newsreporter was talking about an article about her in   
an holo magazine.  
  
"Don't tell me that you're going to buy it, Flyboy," she commented him as   
lightly as she could manage.   
  
He whirled toward her, apparently unaware that she had been standing behind him   
for all this time.   
  
"Huh... course not," he answered shortly, then turned back toward the screen.  
  
Course not, she thought to herself with a pout. She bet with herself that he   
would have the said magazine in his possession in less than one day, delivery   
delays obliged. Dimly, almost unconsciously, she admitted to herself that she   
was becoming slightly jealous of the attention that the young princess could get   
from her best friend.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
However, if Mara didn't exactly like the fact that Luke cared about the last   
princess of Alderaan, someone else really didn't appreciate this discovery.  
  
When the Emperor summoned Vader and ordered him to bring his 'slave' with him,   
the dark lord of the Sith knew with all the fibers of what remained of his body   
that something serious was about to happen. However, for the sake of his   
beloved son and his own, he couldn't foresee what it would be about. The only   
thing he could feel for sure was that either himself or his son wouldn't like   
the outcome of the meeting.  
  
While they patiently waited for their turn, Vader, who was freshly back from yet   
another Jedi hunt, tried to gather as much information as he could about his   
son's current situation with their master.  
  
*Did you fail in a mission lately?* he asked his son through their Force bond.  
  
*No, and I was careful to not use explosives anywhere near the Palace or the   
master's installations,* the teenager answered, his own anxiety beginning to   
escape his rigid self-control. *I didn't bring the Jedi matter up with him   
either,* he added seriously, his head still bowed as the obedient slave he was   
supposed to be to the eyes of the court.  
  
Then what, his father wondered, had he or his son done to irritate their master?   
Despite his extensive knowledge of the other's infamous bad temper, he couldn't   
find anything that could lead to the warning that he was still feeling through   
the Force.  
  
Just then, the warder invited him to step inside the throne room; it was his   
turn. Bracing himself, he stepped toward the opened double-doors. Luke   
followed docilely behind him, his shoulders slumped and his head bowed; for   
anybody else, he was his long-broken slave.   
  
As the two of them stepped further in the room, his anxiety grew. Naturally, he   
did his best to retain a cool set of mind, but he was aware that the Emperor   
knew exactly how he felt. When he reached out to check on Luke, he discovered   
that his son wasn't doing any better than he himself was; they were both very   
uneasy about the circumstances of their summon. All too soon, they reached the   
last platform that was under the Emperor's level; they both knelt respectfully   
at their master's feet.   
  
"Welcome, Lord Vader," the Emperor bid him, standing up from his throne to step   
closer.  
  
"What is thy bidding, Master?" he asked as he straightened up and raised his   
head from his respectful bow.   
  
"It seems that a lesson needs to be taught once again, Lord Vader," the old   
ruler commented more coolly, turning his head toward the young teenager as he   
did so.   
  
Both Vader and Luke felt a jolt of cold dread slide down their spine at this; it   
settled in the pit of their stomachs and didn't leave them alone.   
  
"Did something happen while I was away, Master?" he asked as coldly as he could   
even though he only wanted to step in front of his subservient son and defend   
him from what he now knew was imminent.   
  
"Yes," was the answer the other gave him--- then he raised his hands and blasted   
the youth with his favorite discipline tool: lightning bolts which were born   
from the Dark.  
  
Vader took a reflexive step toward Luke to protect him, perhaps even block the   
bolts with his lightsaber--- when the Emperor's mind suddenly contacted him; he   
stilled in understanding. This wasn't only about his son...  
  
*I once warned you about your care, young Vader,* the ruler grated angrily   
through the Force as he addressed both of his servants. *This despising habit   
of yours weakens you and corrupts your soul,* he then snarled as he put an end   
to the boy's discipline. *Learn your lesson this time,* he finished with a   
warning and the sending of what would be his final warning, *or next time shall   
be 'most' unpleasant and final,* he added for emphasis.   
  
If the boy could have answered, Vader had no doubt that he would have, but the   
Emperor's attack had been vicious and straight to the point; Luke was on the   
brink of unconsciousness. Even if he himself understood that Luke's good heart   
had begun to overcome its tolerated boundaries, and that his own care was now   
under the Emperor's scrutiny and that he were next if he didn't recover his   
cooler attitude, he couldn't help but feel his heart break at the sight of his   
son in torment. However, that emotional pain was almost inconsequential next to   
his anguish of not being able to relieve him from his pain... yet. How he hated   
their cursed masquerade, he thought in resent.  
  
"I am your master now, child," the Emperor spat at the crumpled form of his   
latest 'victim'. "You, like Lord Vader, are now my servant and shall be devoted   
to myself, and myself alone. Am I clear?" he asked the barely conscious boy.  
  
Even as Vader's thoughts stopped once again in realization that he would really   
have to change his own attitude and fast before he caused more problems for his   
son, Luke found the strength to moan and nod weakly in answer to his master.  
  
"Good," the despot commented more coolly, then refocused on the older Vader.   
"Take him away. When he'll be recovered, make sure he has learnt this lesson   
well," he ordered him, then turned his back to him.  
  
"As you wish, Master," Vader bowed reflexively, then snapped his fingers at two   
nearby, regular troopers. "Carry him," he instructed them, then began his way   
out of the suddenly suffocating throne room.  
  
Up to now, they had never thought that their mutual care could be the source of   
problems with their master, or, he amended, he himself had estimated that it   
hadn't been 'too' serious to consider as a danger. They would obviously have to   
revise their perception of their feelings, he resolved; he for one wouldn't take   
any chance to anger the Emperor for something as trivial as a good emotion...,   
nor would he allow Luke to dismiss it as if it were inconsequential, he added   
seriously as they approached the double doors and the waiting scrutiny of the   
Emperor's court.  
  
He was perfectly aware of what his exit would do: it would remind everyone   
around that the Emperor was a dangerous man to anger.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Today was Mara's day in the court. Once every week, it was her duty to be   
present in the Grand Corridor and improve her flirting skills. Thus, she was   
present that day... when Vader exited the throne room with the unconscious form   
of her best friend in the care of stormtroopers.  
  
Her first reflex was to drop her disguise and rush to his side, but fortunately   
for her, she was very well trained in the art of maintaining an illusion. She   
didn't budge from her location beside a pompous grand Moff. However, she   
reached out and checked on her friend.  
  
*Luke, what happened?* she asked him as coolly as she could even though she was   
genuinely worried about him.  
  
She expected her friend to answer her, or at least reassure her, but instead,   
with what little consciousness he still had, he told her off.  
  
*Don't...* he sent before shutting his mind to her.  
  
She was so shocked by his reaction that she barely noticed the brief glance that   
his father gave her as his group walked past her, let alone when her friend's   
carriers took him out of her sight.  
  
He had shut her out.  
  
They had known each other for years now and as far as she remembered, her friend   
had never, ever cut off their link. In fact, 'she' had been the one to   
sometimes blocked him when the Emperor had been with her, or when he had   
contacted her during a touchy part of her courtesan training. Otherwise, they   
had never treated each other so... coldly, she shook her head in confusion.  
  
"The boy must have insulted the Emperor, my dear," the older man commented,   
drawing her attention back to the here and now.   
  
Mara raised her chin high once again, affecting an haughty air, then sniffed as   
if in disgust. "I don't understand why Lord Vader would keep such a pathetic   
thing with himself," she commented as falsely as she could.  
  
However, despite her best attempts to control her feelings, her thoughts always   
returned to her wounded friend...  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
Meanwhile, in the throne room, the Emperor carefully monitored all his elements   
in his latest strategy to mold the boy's soul into his perfect tool. First, the   
pain had been enough to scare him mute, both body and soul; not even his   
training as an agent had prepared him for his latest discipline. Second, Vader   
had been nearby, and had wisely deduced that the punishment had also been for   
him; it had been a difficult victory with his servant, he conceded, but in the   
end, the older man had bowed in acceptance of his conditions. And now third was   
Mara Jade.  
  
While the girl was much better controlled than the boy was, he could still feel   
the burgeoning care that was strengthening in her in regards of young Vader.   
Hence, he had made sure that she would be present in the Grand corridor to   
witness his less-than-gratifying exit from a session of discipline. Unbeknown   
to her, she saved herself from a similar fate when she maintained her disguise,   
then even sneered at her best friend in order to please him, her master.   
However, even her near-perfect devotion to him didn't keep her from worrying   
about the 'troublesome' teenager.  
  
*Young Vader will be treated for his minor injuries, Mara Jade,* he began   
without preamble through her link with her.   
  
As expected, the girl startled inwardly at his cold intrusion, but she didn't   
resent it, nor did she try to hide her feelings from him. Instead, she berated   
herself for worrying about her friend and turned her complete focus to him.  
  
*I'm sorry, Master. How may I serve you?* she inquired obediently.  
  
For a moment, the ruler silently relished his feeling of perfect control over   
the young girl. Mara Jade was his, had almost always been ever since he had   
taken her from her family. She was the proof that he had the ability to mold   
even Jedi children into tools for the Dark Side and himself. Of course, he   
conceded, he had to restrain her full potential to achieve such a perfect   
result, but, he shrugged to himself, it was a small price to pay to achieve his   
destiny and rule over Jedi servants. Besides, he thought more seriously, the   
Jade girl had been a first test... but young Vader would be his crowning   
achievement; he would overcome him 'without' diminishing his potential. Like   
Father, like Son, he smiled sickly to himself, then added that the son may just   
also supplant the father... in due time.  
  
Aware that his youngest yet best servant was still waiting for his convenience,   
he re-established their mental conversation. *Young Vader will remain your   
partner for the time being, child, but,* he warned ominously, *do not, under any   
circumstances, duplicate his filthy habit to worry or even care about anybody,   
not even him. If you sense any such feeling, crush them without pity and be   
wary of your partner.*  
  
The child was slightly surprised by this, but he had taught her well when she   
had been younger; she knew that she could only obey him, no questions asked, no   
judgments allowed.  
  
*It shall be as you wish, Master,* she answered deferentially, then waited for   
him to cut their link.  
  
He did so instantly, almost coldly.  
  
Now that Jade was warned about her growing bad habit, it remained to be seen if   
his two other Jedi servants had learnt their lesson.  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
When Lord Vader entered the common medcenter, its staff began to act as if they   
were in a state of emergency. Three young men rushed toward him while a clerk   
at the desk warned higher placed medics of their unexpected patient; around   
them, the dignitaries, who had come here in search of help with their physical   
problems, slightly cringed in fear at his sight which was even more ominous now   
that he had an unconscious prisoner with him.   
  
"That is your patient," he commented in mock-disgust as he pointed to his still   
unconscious son.  
  
Somewhere between the Grand Corridor and when they had exited the turbolift, his   
young Jedi had lost his senses. While it slightly relieved him for his son   
wouldn't be in pain for the time being, it also worried him even though he had   
resolved not to worry too much about his son. He knew all too well that his   
being out cold meant that his condition was worsening.   
  
He tried not to wince when the troopers dropped their precious burden, then   
silently followed the medical staff as they carried their new patient in an exam   
room.  
  
While he watched them evaluate the boy's health status, then decide to immerge   
him in bacta as soon as possible, Vader stood near the far wall, lost in glum   
thoughts. He should have seen it coming, he scolded himself grimly. The moment   
that he had found out about his son's secret, he had known that the Emperor   
wouldn't tolerate even an iota of a change in his life, that he would seen any   
signs of care or even love as a threat in what had become his life. Before he   
had found Luke, nothing had mattered to him except serve the Emperor and please   
him. No one, not even a slave Jedi child, could have raised the beginning of a   
feeling in him... then fatherhood had come crashing down on his shoulders... and   
had changed him despite his best attempts to keep the changes from happening.   
Even now, he conceded, he couldn't see himself as not caring at all about his   
son; it was impossible. He would give his life to the Emperor, do anything to   
please him... but he would also always look forward to seeing his son again,   
share his latest success with him before he himself told him how he was becoming   
a better servant for their master.  
  
On the other hand, he reminded himself, the warning had been a very, very   
serious one this time; he had to forsake any physical sign of his care, and   
other than considering his son as special... yet secondary to their master, he   
wouldn't allow himself to worry about him, let alone fear for him.  
  
His son, like himself, was the Emperor's servant. He knew that their master   
wouldn't endanger him, but he would use any means necessary to teach him how to   
live properly, and how to feel only the emotions which strengthened their powers   
born from the Dark Side of the Force, the only valuable source of power to serve   
the Emperor.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
When Luke's senses finally deigned return to him, he felt horrible. His first   
instinct was to moan--- and he stopped in surprise as he heard his muffled   
sound. Where was he?, he wondered even as he forced his eyes open.  
  
A pinkish/watery veil was covering his eyes, keeping him from seeing where he   
was. He brought his fist to his left eye to rub it clear, and thus understood   
that he was floating in some kind of goop--- bacta, he belatedly identified.  
  
He was in a bacta tank, probably in a medcenter. Before he could reach out to   
check his feelings, or even study what he could see through the veil, something   
tightened around his shoulders and pulled him upward. Before he had recovered   
from his surprise, he was breaking the surface of the bacta.  
  
"Just relax a moment," a cold, mechanical voice advised him even as a mechanical   
arm removed his breathing mask from him. "You will be out of the tank shortly."  
  
Luke, who was still slightly dazed from his long lapse of unconsciousness,   
slowly became aware that he was hanging from the inside edge of the tank, his   
strong arm holding him stable against its upper edge. Why was he in a   
medcenter?, he wondered tiredly, closing his eyes to shoo away the last remnants   
of his forced sleep. As far as he remembered, he hadn't been hurt in a mission   
since---  
  
Then the memory of cold, indescribable bolts of energy came back to   
him... The Emperor... He had upset the Emperor... because he cared too much.   
Even more serious, he then remembered more clearly, it was his last chance to   
prove that he wasn't allowing himself to be corrupted by his weakness.   
  
A door slid open on his left; he raised his head just in time to see the dark   
shape of his father nano-seconds before the sound of his familiar breath entered   
his ears.   
  
"Finally awake I see," he commented coldly.  
  
Caught by surprise by his father's unusual coldness, Luke could only stare   
mutely at him--- then he stifled a gasp of shock when the other's Force-powers   
enveloped him and pulled him out of the tank. He set his wet, bacta-sticky body   
down just beside the tank; he landed on his knees and hands beside the tank.  
  
"You are fortunate that he didn't kill you," his father told him as he stepped   
closer to his weakened, slightly shivering form. "Don't tempt your fate ever   
again," he then warned him before he turned on his heel as if to leave him.  
  
Luke, who was still confused from his drug-induced sleep, didn't know how to   
understand his father's words. Was he pretending to be angry? Or was he truly   
angry, even disappointed of him?  
  
*Father?* he reached out hesitantly, ready to cower away if his father proved to   
be genuinely upset at him.   
  
For a moment, only silence answered him, then the dark lord left without a word,   
throwing young Luke Vader into a serious spin of confusion. However, before he   
could sink too much into it, his father finally answered him.  
  
*I still love you, Luke,* he reassured him with a touch of his old warmth, *but   
I can't afford to show this anymore, nor can you,* he finished more glumly, then   
he left him alone with his feelings.  
  
No, he agreed, they couldn't afford to feel too much for one another, not unless   
they wanted to be allowed to see each other again, but... he conceded, he had   
never expected the cut to take place this fast.  
  
Well, he berated himself, the faster the better. He had some very hard work to   
do on himself to become a true good servant to the Emperor. The others had to   
become unimportant for him. Considering how natural it was for him to care and   
worry about others, he suspected that being perfect in this area of his life   
would be quite a challenge. Hence, he thought with fresh determination, he had   
to start working on it right now.  
  
Crushing his worries about his father's feelings for him, or how he would act   
with his friend from now on, young Luke focused on getting back to his feet,   
then to prepare himself to rejoin his 'master' who was waiting for him in the   
adjoining room.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
The moment that Luke and his father returned home, the young teenager excused   
himself to his room, then took off all the holo pictures from his wall. What   
had begun as an innocent interest had become an irrational passion and he had   
slowly transformed his plain wall in front of his desk into a shrine to Princess   
Leia of Alderaan. Every time he had purchased a magazine about her, he had   
hacked into the program and pulled out the pictures into a separate disk before   
using his father's computer to turn them into a larger and better format for   
display on his wall. Then, as if it hadn't been enough, he had also begun to   
compile his articles into what he had come to call the Princess' Diary--- but no   
more, he reminded himself as he stashed his deactivated holos into a box with   
the his book. She was the easiest person to cut out of his life, especially   
considering that she had never really entered it in the first place; she was the   
first person to leave his heart.  
  
Unlike what he had thought though, the image of the captivating girl of his age   
didn't disappear from his mind with the snap of his fingers, but he didn't allow   
himself to give into his fascination once again.   
  
It was not that easy about his father though. While they hadn't really talked   
about how they would behave with one another from now on in fear of appearing as   
caring during such a conversation, they both assumed a cool yet not too distant   
attitude. The first days were much colder of course, the memories of their   
latest discipline still fresh in their minds, but as the days, then weeks   
passed, they both resumed appreciating each other's company when they could be   
together. However, unlike 'before', they never touched, nor changed their tones   
of voice or approached personal topics. Instead, they remained cool, barely   
exchanging a minimum of information about each other's missions before helping   
each other, training together, or simply going their separate ways. Despite   
their distance though, they were still happy to see each other after long weeks   
of separation.  
  
The Emperor seemed to tolerate this minimal care between Father and Son; Luke   
surmised that it was his reward for his greater devotion to him.  
  
However, someone besides his father was slightly threatening his focus on his   
master. He doubted that his partner was aware of it, but her mere presence   
around him was constantly challenging his self-control over his disgusting habit   
to care and love. To help himself, he had begun to think of her as his partner,   
not his friend anymore, nor had he indulged himself in any stray talk with her,   
but... despite his best efforts, he sometimes found himself staring absently at   
her, or studying her for no other reason than because she was with him and he   
found her interesting.   
  
Fortunately, he was able to hide it from her by swiftly avoiding her eyes   
whenever she looked up during those moments. However, the Emperor was aware of   
his games of cat and mouse and met again with him, alone this time.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
The young teenager reported in the Emperor's private rooms, assuming his role of   
a subservient slave which had just been summoned to do his master's bidding.  
  
For a long moment, the old ruler glared at the kneeling form of the young dark   
Jedi. So much potential, he thought for the thousandth time since he had met   
him; so much potential for trouble as well. Palpatine was perfectly aware of how   
much control he had over the boy; it was almost complete.  
  
However, he wasn't completely his yet. A small part of his soul remained rooted   
in the Light and resisted anything he tried to corrupt it. Not the power of the   
Dark Side that was now enshrouding the boy's soul and heart, not his own manual   
veils... and not even the boy's several victims could snuff out that remnant of   
the Jedi the child could have been.  
  
Even worse, he conceded to himself, after monitoring the two teenagers for the   
past three months, he had come to realize that the boy's aptitude to care for   
Mara Jade was the key to the strength of their bond as Soul Mates. Without his   
care, the bond was wavering and the girl was less able to tap into the boy's   
strengths and vice-versa.  
  
Without the bond, he mused unhappily, the children weren't as good tools as they   
were with it, which meant, he scowled angrily, that he had to give some room for   
the boy's care to resurface once again... with his friend, he sneered inwardly.  
  
Unfolding his hands from over his stomach, he stepped closer to the still   
kneeling boy; he reveled in his feelings of dread for as long as he wasn't   
standing right in front of him.  
  
"You haven't been very proficient lately, young Vader," he began ominously,   
savoring the growing fear in his slave's senses.  
  
"Yes, Master," the child admitted, cringing at his own words; he wisely kept his   
head bowed in shame.   
  
Palpatine let him worry about his new fate for a second or two, then took a step   
away from him. "Mara Jade's performances are also less satisfying than usual,"   
he commented with a sneer. "Tell me, child, what is the matter with you and   
your partner."  
  
Hesitantly, the child raised his head to look at him. "I... huh... I don't   
really know, Master. We both fight, fly, and plan as best as we can, but   
somehow, we aren't as strong nor as fast as usually."  
  
"You mean as before you were punished for your weakness, don't you?" the older   
man taunted his servant meanly.  
  
"Yes, Master," the teenager bowed his head once again.   
  
"I know you yourself is completely recovered, boy," the ruler commented as he   
stepped around his kneeling servant, "and that you learnt your lesson well, as   
did your partner," he finished seriously. "But perhaps slightly too well," he   
added, hiding his disdain at his own words.   
  
While he let the child ponder his words, he himself made a note to monitor the   
youth as closely as ever now that he would be allowed to be 'friend' again with   
Jade. With their potential as soul mates, he didn't want to take any chance   
with their ever falling in love... Love. The most sickening feeling from that   
pestering Light Side... and the only feeling which could defeat the Dark Side.   
Oh yes, he decided grimly, he would dissuade the teenagers from even considering   
that feeling as possible for them.  
  
"You and Jade share a bond, young Vader," he commented out loud to the nearby,   
confused teenager. "As such, you can't cut yourself off from each other without   
loosing your greatest strength."  
  
"Master?" young Vader inquired in obvious confusion.  
  
Taking a deep breath to force himself to say the despiteful words, Palpatine   
turned away from the child to hide his grimace. "You may resume your friendship   
with Mara Jade," he barely hissed, "but," he added, his anger surfacing even as   
he turned toward the suddenly delighted youth, "you know the limits with your   
Father, see to it that you maintain the same ones with your partner," he warned   
him ominously.   
  
"I understand, Master," the child bowed once again. "Thank you."  
  
"Dismissed," he spat in answer, his back once again turned away from his   
servant.  
  
As he monitored the teenager while he made his way back to his father's palace,   
he himself reflected over and over again that the risk had better be worth the   
game or else he would be very disappointed indeed.  
  
  
  
  
As it was, Luke heeded the Emperor's stern warning yet resumed his normal   
behavior with Jade. His friend was, as usual, cooler than he was, but she too   
felt the return of their bond and understood what it meant.  
  
A few days later, they were back at peak's efficiency and were once again the   
Emperor's best agents. However, both remained very wary about their secret   
urges to be fascinated by their companion's physical or psychological   
attributes.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
Six months later.  
  
The nearly sixteen-year-old teenagers had to destroy the databanks of an illegal   
intelligence agency which was operating under a fake front.  
  
As usual, they stroke at night, but unlike the usual targets, this one wasn't   
deserted at night. The illegal staff was there, hard at work.   
  
Mara and Luke cloaked their present in the Force and slipped past the first   
security ring. The next security ring was tougher, but the two young assassins   
weren't fazed by the unexpected challenge. They selected the most vulnerable,   
less-checked point of admission to the higher levels, then attacked.   
  
They continued their way toward the inner part of the 'base'. When they finally   
reached it, they remained in the shadows and studied the up-to-now unknown   
layout. At least twenty people were working around the main databank itself,   
but another thirty some were in an opened room which was in the back of the main   
room. It was exactly as they had foreseen, they sent to each other in pride,   
then refocused on their mission.   
  
Luke gave Mara her two explosive charges then readied his owns; they separated   
and silently crawled on four, moving from one desk to another to reach their   
destinations. When unsuspecting enemies walked too close to them, they hid   
under the databrokers noses, using their Force cloaks to rendered themselves   
invisible before they resumed their ghost-like progress. Inexorably, then   
advanced toward their respective goals: the controls of the lighting   
installations for Luke and the alarm system for Mara.   
  
The young teenagers finally reached their destinations, still undetected. While   
Luke took advantage of nearby crates to hide his bombs, Mara, who was hidden in   
a small recess in the wall, quickly unscrewed the panel which was hiding part of   
the lines that was connecting the alarm system of this level to the other   
levels; she then cut the said wires, hid her own bomb in amongst the remaining   
wires and gas ducts that were in the wall, then she screwed her panel back in   
place, just in case someone found her little tampering.   
  
*Ready?* her friend asked her from across the room. He sent her an image of   
himself; he was crouched behind a stack of crates, his blaster and lightsaber   
ready. He also informed her that he had disconnected the building's links with   
outside and was ready to turn out the lights.   
  
*Let's get this over with,* he sent her in his trademark fashion which meant   
trouble for their targets.  
  
He was ready.  
  
So was she.  
  
She had barely cleared her blaster from her forearm holster when the lights went   
out in the large room. Everybody naturally panicked; both Luke and her jumped   
out of their hiding places and began to lay down a heavy barrage of blaster fire   
that took care of almost a third of the room's occupants before they had   
understood what had happened. The remaining two thirds weren't that easy to   
kill though.   
  
Instead, they returned their fire; Mara, who was dressed in black, used the   
darkness to her advantage. She moved all over the place, not giving off   
her position thanks to a beginner's a steady fire. She thus managed to nail an   
extra five men.  
  
  
  
  
On the other side of the room, Luke jumped over the men who were distracted by   
Mara's fire, drew his lightsaber, then attacked the door which was protecting   
their main target. The door didn't resist him for long; he unseeingly fired one   
last time at the men who were firing at him from behind, forcing them to remain   
undercover until he was done with the door---- then hurried to shift his aim and   
counterattack the defensive fire that was coming from inside the room when the   
door fell inwardly.  
  
He stepped inside the supposedly protected room; his lightsaber shifted back and   
forth, easily deflecting the enemy's blaster bolts while he took care of them   
with his right handed blaster. His ricochets proved to be as deadly as his   
blaster shots. However, the enemy changed tactics and quickened their fire on   
him; he stashed his blaster in his belt and used his two hands to hold his   
lightsaber, then deflected the numerous fiery bolts that came his way. He   
deepened his touch with the Force and felt that they had just signed their death   
warrants; he refocused on his enemies.  
  
Stepping closer to them, he deflected their fire right back at them, then   
parried and slashed, cutting off two blaster's tips as he did so. One of his   
preys tried to stun him; Luke easily brushed off the effect of the stun blast   
without loosing his focus, then, one second later, took care of five more   
outlaws. He then whirled around and shifted his blade from right to left then   
back again; once he was close to the man who was threatening him on his right,   
kicked the traitor while he blocked yet another bolt from his remaining   
companion. As the other man fell on the floor, dead, Luke focused on his last   
nemesis. He parried yet another blaster bolt, then another, and another, then   
spun on the ball of his foot, lifting his arms above his head to avoid the   
blaster bolts that would have incapacitated his elbow, then shifted his grip on   
his blade and brought it back down and backward. As his last victim died,   
reinforcement came in.  
  
Three to go, the youth thought grimly as he drew his blade from behind, changed   
his grip yet again on it and took care of the first new man... who had had the   
very bad idea of charging him instead of keeping his distances.   
  
  
  
  
  
In the room nearby, Mara had also drawn her lightsaber, matching its shielding   
abilities to her blaster's lethal potential, using Luke's lessons to deepen her   
touch with the Force. Her blood red blade seemed like a living thing as she   
twirled it around herself even as she laid a heavy fire on her remaining   
enemies; she never blocked her own fire with her blade, but she never missed the   
nemesis' either. The adults continued to try and overcome her.   
  
Having enough of their game though, Mara changed her tactic. She reached out   
with the Force and flipped their up-ended desks to a flat position on the floor.   
Finding themselves without protection anymore, the men and aliens panicked.  
  
They died a few seconds later.   
  
A screeching, electronic-like sound attracted her attention. Now that he was   
done with its operators, her companion was finishing the computers.   
  
Time to make an exit.   
  
  
  
Two minutes later, they finished their slide down the old-fashioned steel cables   
Which had once housed what had been called an elevator. They left their   
climbing gear behind and ran as fast as they could in the far from roomy passage   
that was connecting this old shaft to the lower levels of Coruscant. The shafts   
were dank, stinking and slippery, but it was their best escape route; they   
merely ignored the particularity of their choice.  
  
Once they were safe, they activated their respective bombs, then ran off once   
again. Behind them, the traitors' hideout exploded in a most impressive   
fashion, spewing debris all around itself.   
  
The young Destroyers had once again been perfect to meet up with their master's   
expectations.  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
When he awoke the next morning, young Luke Vader felt satisfied about his latest   
mission. He had been successful, like always since he and Mara had recovered   
their bond, and he hadn't been hurt despite the hot action that he had faced.   
  
He was getting better, he smiled smugly.   
  
He yawned, stretched, then stood up from his small bed and put on a loose shirt   
and a pair of trousers. He knew that he was off duty till 0100, so he decided   
to take his time and eat breakfast at home; he yawned yet again as he exited his   
room, then padded barefoot toward the dining room where he usually grabbed a   
quick breakfast.   
  
He had selected that room years ago, he dimly remembered, knowing that if he   
were to see his father in the morning, it would be there. However, he conceded,   
this childish habit had long stopped being true---- except for today, he   
realized in pleasant surprise.  
  
His father's was in that room that morning. Of course, he reflected more   
seriously, he shouldn't be 'that' surprised to see his father in the palace   
since he was on Coruscant for a few more days, but, he admitted, he hadn't   
thought that he'd still be there at 0900.   
  
"Good morning, Son." his father greeted him coolly, barely glancing up at him as   
he stepped inside the wooden, old-styled yet simply furnished room.   
  
"Good morning, Father." he answered in kind while he sat in the chair closest to   
him. "I didn't expect to see you this morning," he told him honestly as he   
programmed his request for his breakfast.   
  
"There's been some change in my schedule," the other answered as he slid a   
datapad toward him.  
  
Luke stopped it with his hand, then took a look at the head title: "Bum gangs   
down each other's throat."  
  
"Great job once again, I see," his father commented as he stood up.  
  
"Thanks. There was nothing to it though," the youth tried to lessen his   
father's pride. He had been great, but not that good either. He was merely   
improving, he reflected seriously.  
  
"Nothing? Nothing to those blasts that barely missed you?" Vader inquired in   
mild disbelief as he stepped closer. "Nothing to those vipers who wanted to   
kill you?"   
  
Luke gaped at him. "How... do you know about that?" he asked, bemused; he   
barely noticed that he too was now back on his feet.  
  
"I followed your progress through the Force yesterday," his father admitted.   
"I wanted to see you at work."  
  
Luke shook his head in annoyance; count on his father to 'eavesdrop' on him,   
but, he thought more seriously, this was a little too much above the line too.   
  
"Father..." he began with a groan.   
  
"I know," his father nodded seriously, "but I merely took advantage of my free   
time to watch my son's prowess?" he commented as reasonably as he could.   
  
"Hmm, I guess," the youth conceded although he fervently wished that the Emperor   
'would' understand this the same way. "And?" he then asked him, unable to take   
advantage too of his father seeing him in action.  
  
"And..." his father began, taking one step closer, as if to touch him, Luke   
noted, then seemed to catch himself and merely stood beside him. "I am prouder   
of you than any word could explain," he commented, reaching out to show him what   
he meant.  
  
The image of his father resting his right hand on his shoulder made Luke feel   
slightly lightheaded. He was 'that' proud of him? Whoa...  
  
"Really?" he asked him in slight dubiousness.  
  
Vader nodded, then sent another image, this time of his beaming with pride as he   
watched him at work.  
  
Yes, he really was that proud, Luke conceded.   
  
"Do you think the Emperor is as satisfied as you are, Father?" he then asked   
him, leaning against the table to hide his suddenly shaky legs. He had never,   
ever thought that he could make anyone feel so much contentment in his actions.  
  
"Son," Vader began seriously, "if he isn't, then he will never be. What you do   
now is close to perfection."  
  
"Then I'm also satisfied." Luke agreed, allowing his own pride to show, but   
nothing else like gratitude toward his father... or even delight to please him.  
He knew very well now what he could feel and what he couldn't.  
  
As for his work, if his master hadn't complained to his father, then it had to   
mean that he was content by it... Of course, Luke conceded, he had no doubts   
that the Emperor would tell him without any detour if he weren't pleased by   
either himself or Mara... or both for that matter.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
Fortunately for the teenagers, their master never mentioned any new   
disappointment of any kind; however, he didn't allow Luke to leave with his   
father either.  
  
As the months passed, Luke and Mara's missions became touchier, demanding more   
preparation and creativity from their parts. Sometimes, they had to set up their   
cover story weeks before their actual attack, other times, they had to use their   
master's resources without the adults' knowing about it, and other times, they   
had to really modify their physical appearances.   
  
Like for their upcoming mission.  
  
  
  
  
Luke sat quietly as the skin artist painted his chosen tattoo over his true   
slave mark.   
Up to now, his mark had always been an advantage since it had allowed him   
to perfectly masquerade as a nobody in different places, but their new mission   
required him to get rid of it. Since it was embedded in his skin, he couldn't   
simply remove it, but on the other hand, he had figured out that he could cover   
it. Hence, he had dyed his hair a garish blue, then had shown up in a tattoo   
shop with a sample of the image he wanted.  
  
If he was going to bear that mark forever too, he had thought, better be   
something he'd be proud to display. He watched his arm with interest as his   
chosen design slowly took shape; that of a black Sith dragon.   
  
He had read the legends of the Sith, how the first lords had been rumored to   
ride such powerful creatures. It was said that the dragons had rarely, if never   
been seen, except by their victims, but even then, some of them hadn't even   
caught of glimpse of them before they had died at their hands. It was a fitting   
symbol, the young assassin thought with a satisfied smirk. No one but a Sith   
devotee would know the true nature of the creature he would soon bear on his   
left biceps, and he could easily relate to the legendary creature in his   
everyday life.  
  
Two hours later, Luke erased the man's memory of what he had just hidden with   
his work of art, then he paid him, giving him a little extra to make sure that   
he didn't pay any more attention to his memory of him; he then left Coruscant's   
underground area.   
  
No one paid attention to him as he strolled down the streets before disappearing   
inside one of his master's top secret passages. Now, he reflected seriously, he   
had to find a swimming club to begin phase two of his cover story.  
  
  
  
  
Two months later, Luke, as well as a dozen other teenagers, disembarked   
from a public transport which had just landed on Tilus in the Oregan system.   
Everybody but him were here to take part to a swimming competition that would   
crown the fastest, strongest swimmer kids in the galaxy.   
  
He himself was naturally there for his master; he had to penetrate a weapon's   
dealer territory and offer a diversion while his friend would uncover the   
dealer's sources and 'deal' with him. Luke knew from his surest sources that   
the dealer had heard of his aquatic prowess; he estimated that the man would bet   
on him winning and would thus keep a very close eye on all his races. Well, he   
would give him a run for his money, he decided grimly.   
  
Without even focusing, he felt his friend slip out of their craft and disappear   
behind nearby crates. While he himself would keep the dealer busy at the   
competition site, Mara would infiltrate his main base and destroy it. For the   
moment though, she had to study the territory and their target to double check   
their data; they would compare notes later tonight just before he himself had to   
go to sleep. If only he didn't have to share his room with an alien, he thought   
in disgust as he remembered once again his friend's conditions in this   
enterprise, 'she' too would have some place to sleep for the night.  
  
"Hey, Mak!" his roommate called, leaning over to grab his arm and pull him   
forward. "Snap out of it, man. Haven't you been to another planet before?" the   
alien asked him earnestly.  
  
If Luke hadn't restrained himself, the other boy's arm might already be broken   
thanks to a vicious pull, but except for an angry flash of his eyes, he didn't   
react.  
  
"Sorry, what did you say?" he asked him, extricating himself from its hold.   
  
"If you stand here all day long, you'll loose the group," the other smiled.   
"Come on."  
  
"Right," Luke smiled back, although less warmly than the other kid had.  
  
He hefted his bag over his shoulder and followed the already departing group.   
He made didn't stay too close to them though. He had enough to swim in the   
same, insanitary pool than aliens; he didn't want to stand beside them if he   
didn't have to.  
  
  
  
  
Green eyes flashing in concentration, Mara Jade studied the departing group,   
then her friend, then she began to look around herself to judge how she would   
slip out of the spaceport without being noticed. She spotted another group of   
arriving competitors; those ones were with their families this time.  
  
Perfect.  
  
She hurried to put on a fluffy skirt over her tight trousers while remaining   
hidden in the shadows of her chosen crates, then, after making sure that nobody   
would pay attention to her, she ran out of hiding place. She caught up with the   
oblivious group; she followed them all the way to the inner part of the   
terminal, then she lost herself in the 'freshers.   
  
Security was tight, she reflected as she hurried to lift herself in the nearest   
ventilation exhaust port. She closed it just in time to avoid being spotted by   
two alien women who came in. She remained immobile and silent for as long as   
she wasn't alone again, pursing her lips as she watched the aliens who were   
under herself. The non-humans were very numerous on this planet.  
  
Once they were gone, she took a moment to remove her skirt to protect it for   
later use, then she began her long crawl toward the side exit that she and her   
friend had spotted on the plans they had used when they had prepared their   
mission. Well, they had been right about one thing, she thought in   
satisfaction: their target wasn't taking any chances, not even with kids and   
their families. He was hosting the competition because of the income it would   
provide him thanks to the galaxy-wide bets, but no one but his 'guests' were   
allowed on 'his' world.   
  
It was their master's, she mentally defied him dangerously, and the fiend was   
going to learn it. She would find the identity of all his sources, yes, but she   
would also destroy his every mean of enjoying life. After all, she reflected in   
dark satisfaction, her friend wasn't the only one of the two who could play with   
explosives. The traitor 'would' learn who was his master, she promised herself.  
She continued her silent but quick crawl.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Hours later, after an exploration of her territory/target during which she   
gathered the proof that her guest card was passing up street controls, she   
headed toward her friend's hotel. She didn't have to wait for long; he showed   
up almost immediately and they retreated into the deep, well-camouflaging screen   
of the heavy leafed trees which were surrounding the inner court of the hotel.   
  
*So were we right?* he asked her through the Force.  
  
*Yes. We 'will' need your distractions tomorrow,* she nodded, almost   
unconsciously brushing his bare, muscled arm with her hand.  
  
It sent spikes of awareness in her limb and whole body.  
  
*Okay, no problem. How long will you need?* he asked her.  
  
*Minimum one hour, perhaps more. I'll keep in touch,* she promised him.  
  
*I hope so,* he smiled seriously. *I know I can swim fast, but I don't know how   
long I can keep it up,* he reminded her.  
  
*Well, we know you can last at least one hour and a half,* she pointed out with   
a physical nudge on his bare biceps, referring to his latest competition   
results.  
  
*Right,* he returned in kind. *But last time, I didn't have to worry about   
you,* he added seriously, taking her hand in his.  
  
*You won't have to worry about me here either, flyboy. Remember? I can take   
care of myself,* she answered, trying hard to keep her mental voice strong even   
though his hold on her hand was getting to her, softening her somehow.   
  
Luke understood her rebuke all the same; he closed his eyes, pressing his lips   
tighter as he realized what he had just said.   
  
He dropped her hand. *I'm sorry, Mara. I guess I'm just used to work with   
You,* he apologized.  
  
*I guess so.* she agreed, her voice gentler now. *But we also have to remain   
focus on ourselves only, Luke. It makes us stronger, and,* she added more   
wistfully, *I doubt the Emperor will always let us work together.*   
  
*Probably,* Luke agreed in resignation. *And I'm sorry about my weakness; it's   
still very much a problem isn't it?*  
  
*Well,* the girl mused seriously, *it isn't as bad as it used to be, but you do   
have to learn to not worry about me, flyboy. I'm as good as you are,* she   
finished with a nudge in the ribs.  
  
*I should know that, shouldn't I?* he answered her tease with a wry smirk, then   
turned his head toward the nearby motel. *I better go back inside,* he told her   
when he refocused on her, *before the stupid aliens and their fellow alien-  
lovers start wondering where I lost myself,* he sneered.   
  
*Be careful,* she reflexively told him, then he was gone.  
  
She herself remained in the thickets for a while, thinking about her friend.   
She dimly admitted to herself that she too wished that they would be able to   
work together on this mission. She felt safe when he was with her, yet she knew   
that she was also there to watch his back if something turned wrong. How many   
times had they saved each other's skin now, she wondered. Too many times to   
count, that was sure, but they had always come back safe and alive... because   
they had been together.   
  
Luke wasn't her family, she knew that, but he was like a brother to her,   
although lately... her feelings for him were beginning to mutate into something   
she knew was forbidden... She didn't know how to explain it, nor how to control   
it, but her feelings for Luke were no longer only friendship, nor that of a team   
mate either... it was something more, something she was desperately trying to   
keep under control. Even though she and Luke were allowed to strengthen their   
Force bond through genuine care for each other, she knew all too well that they   
weren't allowed to go beyond that boundary.   
  
She knew that she wasn't allowed to yearn for his presence when she was alone...   
She couldn't entertain thoughts of kissing him either like the actors were doing   
in the holomovies... She couldn't fall in love with him... but, she admitted in   
worry, her heart seemed to have decided otherwise and resisted everything her   
rational mind threw at it, except perhaps that she would hurt Luke if her   
feelings became known by the Emperor.  
  
A night bird chirped in the darkness, pulling her out of her thoughts.   
  
Right, she reminded herself as she pulled her mind away from her heart, time to   
find a place to sleep.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
The next day, the dealer's guests had already converged toward the competition   
pools and the bets were being registered; in short, the game was about the   
begin. Luke methodically stretched each one of his muscles for what would be a   
strenuous exercise. He had to monopolize the media's attention; he had to keep   
their target here until Mara was finished and had bombed the place... He had to   
win.  
  
"All right, gang, listen up," his team's trainer called around himself.  
  
Luke sighed and reluctantly approached him, as did the other teenagers. He   
stoically endured the touch of alien's skin against his own. When he would be   
done with this assignment, he decided, he would take three to five long, very   
hot showers, and perhaps a bath or two while he was at it, he finished   
seriously.  
  
Meanwhile, his 'trainer' finished his useless speech; it was time to race.  
  
Luke was in the first one on the start line. He took his assigned position and   
prepared for the departure, used a moment to focus as everybody shushed down,   
then they signal went off and he and his competitors were gone. He dove as far   
as he could, barely penetrated the water before he emerged, then instantly began   
to pull water.   
  
He immediately set himself as the leader of the pack, taking a good five strokes   
of advance compare to the rest of his competitors. The fun had just begun.  
  
  
  
  
A few kilometers away, Mara was slipping from wall to shadows to recesses,   
slowly penetrating the dealer's innermost sanctum. Unlike her regular targets,   
she knew that this one kept his information in the office of his ship instead of   
his house. As she had estimated, the ship was heavily guarded and the guards   
weren't allowed to follow the competitions like the rest of the gang was.   
  
Not a problem, she sneered to herself as she found a discreet spot where she   
could access the under-floor space. Once there, she crawled until she was under   
the ship, then crawled out from one duct which opened into another one. Thanks   
the gods for her small body, she reflected as she made her way inside the   
cramped confines which eventually allowed her access inside the ship's   
corridors. Even though she wasn't claustrophobic, she wasn't going out that   
way, she promised herself while she cat-footed toward her objective.   
  
  
  
  
At the open-roofed pool complex, Luke watched the competition board. Those guys   
from Calamaria really were fast, he thought seriously, so were the Avians and a   
girl from Atagastcar literally flew above the water. He checked another   
category of information; his next competition was in ten minutes. He sat on the   
bench of his team, closed his eyes and called on the Force's energies to   
rejuvenate his strengths.   
  
When he got the signal to go to his block, he was feeling like new. The   
competitors he was faced with this time had also won their own first race. Now   
it was time to see who would be the fastest of that group. Up on the guest's   
balcony, the target watched greedily.  
  
  
  
  
It took Mara a good thirty minutes to download all the information that her   
master had requested. Fortunately for her, the ship's corridors weren't guarded   
at all; the fools were so confident that nobody would get past their outer   
circle of defense that they never thought about patrolling 'inside' the ship for   
intruders. Well, she wouldn't blame them for being laxist, she reflected   
seriously; the more they were, the better it was for her.  
  
Once she had pocketed her datadisk, she destroyed the man's computer system,   
exited the room and headed for the engine system. She was tempted to make it   
overheat, but if she wanted to complete her mission, she had to delay the ship's   
destruction. She set her explosives near the system's inflammable elements; as   
she programmed the plastic, she admitted that this was her favorite tactic to   
annihilate a target.  
  
  
  
  
  
Luke's hand slapped the wall once again; he barely avoided hitting his head in   
the wall thanks to his speed, but he didn't care. When he looked up, he saw his   
results.  
  
He had won again. Good. He had just bought Mara another fifteen minutes.  
He heaved himself out of the water, sat on the edge of the pool and panted   
heavily. He eyed the two aliens who had also managed to earn their place in the   
higher level of finals, then he shifted his eyesight upward toward the honorific   
observation gallery. The target was still there, enjoying his new victory.   
The next course would be against those guys, he reflected as he closed his eyes   
and tried to rest... They were fast... and Mara needed at least another half-  
an-hour. He would have to win again.  
  
  
  
  
Using yet another duct to exit the hangar bay, Mara made her way back into the   
house, then into a few strategic places where she could plant her destructive   
devices. Finally, she was ready to teach the dealer who was his real master.   
  
  
  
  
  
Luke had been keeping up his distraction for almost an hour and a half now, Luke  
thought seriously as he got set for yet another race. Unlike his last   
competition on Coruscant though, this one was of a very high caliber, demanding   
much more energies and strength then it had last time. If Mara didn't finish up   
soon, not even the Force would allow him to keep up with the finned and winged   
aliens, he conceded in shame. He couldn't even harm them one way or another   
without looking suspicious since they were born swimmers. He had no choice but   
to play 'fair'.  
  
*Mara, if you're ready, do it now,* he sent her.   
  
*Brace yourself,* she answered him.  
  
Less than two seconds later, a loud sound of explosion cut through the air,   
attracting everyone's attention toward their target's mansion. Or rather, his   
former house.   
  
Its remaining pieces fell down on the surrounding buildings; a large piece of   
concrete came back down and crashed in the pool that was closest to Luke's   
position. It sent everyone into a frenzy of panic.   
  
Screams resounded all around him, the teenagers tried to run on the more than   
slippery floor while the adults tried to gather their charges. Luke used the   
perfect distraction to reach out and choke the man with the Force.   
  
Up on the balcony, the dealer's sudden difficulty to breathe brought the guards   
to panic. Luke refrained himself from smirking, thus foolishly giving himself   
away. Just when the man was about to die, he released him.   
  
*Never forget who the true master is,* he sent darkly, deepening his voice   
so that it sounded like a man's.  
  
Then, his group was making an exit; he fled with them, grabbing a towel on his   
way out. Considering that everybody wanted nothing else but to return home as   
soon as possible, obviously fearing an attack all over the outlaw's city, most   
of the crowd headed for the spaceport, not caring in the least if they were   
leaving their luggage in their hotels' rooms.   
  
Luke followed the throng for as long as it was necessary, then cut away from it   
and rejoined his friend. Together, they easily managed to steal a small ship   
that would bring them back home.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Resting in his chosen seat, Luke shook his head while he watched the chaos that   
was unfolding under them. Every ship that could leave was making a hasty   
departure, as if the whole planet was going to explode under them.  
  
"Well, that will teach him to defy the master," Mara commented from the pilot   
seat.   
  
"That, and to organize an event without his permission," he agreed. "You sure   
know how to rattle a rat's nest, Jade" he smiled, nudging his friend's shoulder.  
  
He didn't put too much energy in his movement though; she noticed it.   
  
"Tired?" she asked him as she made the transition into hyperspace.  
  
Luke leaned his head back against the head rest and closed his eyes.   
  
"I was the fastest human, but those cursed aliens sure drained me. Such   
competitions should be illegal; they aren't fair." he stated darkly.  
  
"I agree. They have a physical advantage compared to us."  
  
"Yeah," he nodded sleepily, slightly shivering as he did so.  
  
"There must be some clothes of some kind in this crate. Why don't you try to   
find them?" she suggested coolly.  
  
  
  
  
"I hope you're right," he admitted as he opened his eyes to look at her   
beautiful eyes.   
  
She was safe, she had succeeded, and she had saved him from a most profound   
humiliation. No wonder that he sometimes wanted to spend all his day and night   
with her, he admitted. He wouldn't go over his master's boundary, but... he   
would really like to just talk and share more secrets with her. They didn't   
have that much time to do so when they were preparing for missions, even less   
when they were involved in them. In fact, the only time they had for themselves   
was when they were coming back from a mission, like right now.  
  
However, his body wouldn't cooperate at the moment; it kept tugging at his   
eyelids to make him go to sleep. Slowly, he pulled himself from his slight   
slouching position and stood to his feet. As he did so, he wondered if Mara   
felt as good with him as he felt with her; after all, he conceded shamefully, he   
was weaker than she was when it came to his feelings.  
  
"I'll try to find some clothes," he told her once he was standing. As he passed   
her chair, he set his hand on her shoulder. "By the way, Jade, I'm glad to see   
you well." he smiled gently.  
  
"Get some rest, flyboy, you deserve it," she smiled back coolly yet a little   
more warm than usual.  
  
"Right..."   
  
Hmm, friendship, he conceded, but probably not that strange tingly feeling he   
himself was dealing with whenever he was close enough to touch her, he reflected   
glumly.  
  
He found dirty mechanics coveralls in a back storage area; if he hadn't been so   
darn cold, he reflected in disgust, he would never have even touched the soiled   
fabric, let alone cover himself with it, but even a Sith could only bear this   
much cold without falling into hypothermia, especially while in transit in   
hyperspace. Even after drying himself as much as he could, he was still   
shivering almost uncontrollably, so his still damp swimming suit was now on the   
deck while he himself was curled up on his side on a narrow bunk, trying to find   
a warm, comfortable spot to gather up some body heat. He would go to sleep, he   
told himself adamantly, intent on resting and warming himself.  
  
Five minutes later, he wasn't conscious enough to know that he had been right.  
  
  
  
  
Mara spent the first forty minutes of their trip in the pilot seat, debating   
whether she should go to her friend and take advantage of the time-off she could   
spend with him, or if she should just let him rest. They had so little time   
now, she mused sadly. When they had been younger, they had positively yearned   
to be where they were today, but they hadn't realized that their work for their   
master would truly become their whole life. No more time for friendly chit   
chat... for sharing of secrets and hopes... they still knew each other very   
well, but at the same time, some kind of distance seemed to have appeared   
between them. She knew that part of the distance was part of their duty, but   
another part, their awkward silences, didn't seem necessary, she reflected   
sadly.  
  
Whereas their silence had always been warm, easy, they were now filled with a   
strange shyness, an incertitude that hadn't been there before.  
  
She finally decided to at least check on him. She found him asleep but   
shivering rather strongly on his small bunk. She quickly hunted for a blanket   
to cover him, but came up dry. Lousy spacers, she thought angrily to the former   
owners of the ship; the fools hadn't thought to pack even the most meager of   
emergency material aboard their ship.   
  
Acting on instinct, she crawled on the bunk with her friend, curled up around   
him in his back and began to warm him up with her own body heat. She knew that   
he wasn't in any kind of danger; he was merely uncomfortable, and she reminded   
herself seriously as she wrapped her arm more tightly around her friend while   
being careful not to wake him up, he had probably been through worse than that   
during his years of slavery... Still, she admitted to herself, he deserved a   
break. He had been successful too in their last mission, so he didn't have to   
be tormented by his cold body, she decided seriously.   
  
As she continued to warm him up, she studied their actual surroundings. The   
small room around them was filled with crates and crap of all kind, and it   
was far from being sanitary. She continued her superficial study of the small   
room--- and her eyes fell on her friend's discarded bathing suit. She gaped at   
it, then at her still sleeping, oblivious friend.  
  
For some strange reason, she suddenly, acutely became aware of her and her   
friend's exact, current predicament. Her breath quickened at those thoughts,   
and she suddenly felt so warm that she wanted to pull away from her friend... or   
rather, she corrected, she wanted to wake him up and share her newfound heat   
with him, to warm him up in turn.  
  
She didn't though. Unsure as to what was going on, she dealt with it like she   
had been trained to do: observe, register, and analyze. However, the young girl   
admitted to herself that for once, it was very hard to restrain herself from   
exploring. She made a mental note to check with some adults what this was   
about... Could this be what was known as attraction?.., she worried slightly.   
If so, then it was above their master's ----  
  
Young Vader slowly shifted his position, turning around to seek more of her   
warmth. Truly unsure as to what she should do, she didn't move until he had   
stopped wriggling about; to her disbelief, he did once he was more or less   
tightly pressed against her, his head burrowed in her shoulder while his relaxed   
body seemed to mold itself to her own. For long minutes, sixteen-year-old Mara   
Jade, active assassin of the galactic Emperor, could only gape in bemusement and   
thorough confusion at the situation she was now dealing with.  
  
When the temptation to kiss her friend became too much, she disentangled herself   
from him and almost ran back to the cockpit, wondering how she'd ever be able to   
watch her friend in the eye after what she had just experienced.  
  
She also prayed that the Emperor never found out about what had just happened to   
her.  
  
******  
  
  
  
To be continued in part 9: More than Partners  
  
  
  
Well, liked it? Hope so ?  
  
  
  
Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)   
(Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff will be sent to the garbage   
smasher without being read.) 


	9. Part 9: More than Partners

Luke Vader: From Slave to Dark Lord of the Sith   
Part 9: More than Partners  
By SJ 15-10-00/12-12-00  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: None of this belong to me; everything in the Star Wars Universe   
belongs to George Lucas.   
See my home page for more details.   
Http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
  
__________________  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
Fortunately for the teenagers, the Emperor never discovered the truth about what   
had happened during their transit, nor did Luke for that matter.  
  
At first, Mara was hard-pressed to even look at him in the eye without   
remembering their almost intimate contact aboard the shuttle, but she was well   
trained in the art of affecting a cool attitude; she forced herself to be as   
cool as ever with her friend/partner.  
  
Naturally, Luke felt a strange tension between them and questioned it, only to   
be told that everything was normal, but as the months went by, and no more   
incidents of a nature similar to that of the shuttle's the uneasiness slowly   
dissipated until they were back to their usual selves... and Luke was once again   
reminded to not go beyond care about Mara Jade.  
  
  
******  
  
  
Six weeks later, he had recovered from his starvation and lack of exercising and   
was completely back on his feet. Given his self-imposed, more than rigorous   
training to recover his shape as fast as possible, if not faster, he was very   
pleased by his results, and especially by those of his missions. Strength was a   
very important key to success, he reflected seriously---   
  
Laughter suddenly echoed in his ears and he snapped back to reality. He was in   
the Emperor's court, following his father and pretending to be his broken slave   
who took care of his comlink and his every needs.  
  
However, the true reason for his presence at this reception was that he needed   
to make himself familiar with his master's newly 'refreshed' court. He   
naturally kept his head bowed, his eyes cast downward, but that didn't keep him   
from 'meeting' everyone thanks to his father's sending. He had thus 'met' and   
registered the faces and different particularities of almost all the men and   
women who were now composing his master's court. He even knew them by their   
roles: sycophants, courtesans, senators... and future senator, he realized as an   
image coalesced in his mind.   
  
At first, he didn't believe his mind's eye when a man approached his father, but   
after a quick flick of his eyes upward, he saw that he was indeed standing less   
than five meters away from the young princess of whom he had strangely collected   
holos and reports... until he had learnt better.  
  
What surprised him thought was that it wasn't the first time that he was with   
his father to functions, and it wasn't the first time that she was amongst the   
guests... but it was the first time that she was this close to him... and it had   
to happen now that he had just recovered from a stern reminder to change his bad   
habit.   
  
Aware of what his heart was tempted to do right this moment, he hurried to crush   
it down and focus on his father's words instead of the girl's presence. It   
helped, at first... As her nearby presence continued to call out to him, he   
tried to counter-attack her lure by reminding himself that she was probably not   
even aware that he was there; he was a slave beneath her notice, he spat at   
himself to keep his heart in check.  
  
Dimly though, he admitted to himself that he wanted her to notice him, however,   
he rid himself of this thought before it could be heard by his master or his   
father. He 'couldn't' care about strangers and the princess was a perfect   
stranger.  
  
His father didn't seem to sense his inner fight; instead, he sent him an image   
of the listening young woman. Luke groaned inwardly at that, then forced   
himself to stop whining and learn what he had to learn.  
  
She was proud, he observed as coolly as he could. She held her chin high while   
she listened to his father and she was well-groomed in the manners of the court.   
Her remarks were also intelligent, and she was beautiful----  
  
The moment he became aware of what he was thinking, he put an end to his   
thoughts and forced the image of the tantalizing young woman out of his mind.   
He couldn't anger his master again, he couldn't care, he reminded himself   
sternly, he couldn't care, he couldn't feel as he did for the princess---  
  
"Excuse-me, your highness," the familiar voice of Mara cut in his senses. Since   
he was used to being a slave, Luke didn't betray his cover-up by looking up in   
surprise, but it wasn't easy. "Lord Vader," she continued respectfully. "The   
Emperor wants me to take care of your slave for the next hour."  
  
"He's all yours then," the dark lord answered even as he stepped aside to let   
the young courtesan through to his 'subservient' son.   
  
Even as Mara stepped closer and took hold of the boy's hand to guide him out of   
the room, Luke felt the princess disgust almost as clearly as if it were his own   
thoughts.  
  
*The master doesn't know, Luke, but get it back under control,* his friend sent   
him even as she led him out of the room.  
  
*I know, I'm working on this,* he sent her even as he did try to purge himself   
from anything related to his feelings regarding a certain princess.   
  
Once outside of the room, Mara let go of his hand and led him down corridors---   
until they were alone and could disappear inside a secret door.  
  
"What's wrong with you?" she asked him the moment that they were sealed in. "Do   
you really want to be punished again?"  
  
"You know I don't," he retorted even as he closed his eyes and focused his mind   
on the only goal worth serving: his master. "I was all right till she came up   
in my surroundings," he answered once he was recovered.  
  
"And why did it happen? I mean, what's so special about her?" his friend   
challenged him almost angrily.  
  
"I don't know," he admitted. "I don't want to care about her, I don't even want   
to know her... but..."  
  
"But?" the young woman asked, her hands on her slim hips now.  
  
"It just happens before I can stop it," he half-whispered in shame. "It's   
almost as if I'm not even aware of it, Mara. I swear I wouldn't react this way   
if I were aware of it when whatever it is begins to sway me."  
  
His partner/friend considered this, then she finally sighed. "I still don't   
understand how you can be interested in such a snotty rich brat, but then," she   
smirked more teasingly, "there are several things I don't understand about you,   
flyboy."  
  
"Join the club," he retorted with a half-sneer/half-smirk.   
  
Yes, indeed, he admitted to himself, there were several elements of his   
personality that greatly puzzled him. First, there was his bad habit to care   
about others. From where did this come from? As far as he could see, no one in   
the Empire, not even the stormtroopers, cared about the others, only about   
themselves. Considering that he himself had grown 'in' the heart of the Empire,   
then by all rights he shouldn't have this bad habit and should be as cool as his   
father or his partner.   
  
And then, there was his ability to use the Force without using his feelings to   
fuel his powers. Once again, the Emperor tolerated it as long as he only used   
it that way when at home, and then, as little as possible, but it still confused   
the teenager. Even his father couldn't do that; he always used at least a   
minimum of resent or anger to accomplish even the most basic of levitation.   
Mara for her part always had to focus her feelings to be able to do anything,   
and they had to pure if she wanted to be efficient.  
  
Which brought him to his third strangeness; his bond with Mara. The Empire was   
a lonely place; no one made friends in its ranks... except himself once again.   
Fortunately, the Emperor had found a way to accept it while using it.   
Otherwise, he suspected that he and Mara would never have been able to stay as   
close as they were at the moment. However, he somehow had the feeling that he   
himself wouldn't have been able to resist her closeness... kind of like for the   
princess, he conceded, except for one tiny detail: Mara had always felt as if he   
knew her from the past whereas he merely had the feeling that he 'should' know   
the princess.  
  
What was it about her? he wondered. He didn't know her, he had never even been   
formerly introduced to her, and she certainly wasn't as wonderful as his   
friend... yet, he was strangely attracted to her, at least as far as wanting to   
know her went, he amended his instantly recovering heart. If only he could   
understand why, he thought in annoyance, he would at least be able to explain   
his irrational interest to his friend...  
  
"Thanks for coming in when you did, Mara," he finally commented in the long   
silence. "I owe you one."  
  
"Had we been in a mission, Luke, I wouldn't have been able to do that and you   
know it," she reminded him sternly. "We were fortunate to be present because of   
our own need to 'meet' the court, not the master's."  
  
"Yes, we are," he agreed glumly, then took a deep breath and prepared himself to   
resume his role. "I think we should go back now. Volunteer or not, our absence   
won't go unnoticed forever."  
  
"Just stay against the wall this time, and avoid the girl as if she were a   
plague," she advised him seriously.  
  
"I will."   
  
In a way, he conceded, she was a plague; his plague.  
  
  
  
  
Minutes later, Luke was back in the reception room.  
  
*What happened?* Vader inquired the moment that he noticed his returned   
presence.   
  
*Girl problems,* his son answered shortly.  
  
Even as Lord Vader blinked in utter surprise at his son's answer, a member of   
the court stepped up in his field of vision.  
  
"Good evening, Lord Vader," Prince Xizor bowed respectfully.   
  
Vader barely had time to recover his cooler composure before the other   
straightened and asked him a most unwanted question.  
  
"I couldn't help but notice that your young slave seems to be part of the   
Emperor's, select servants now. Do you know how we can earn his service?" he   
inquired suavely.  
  
Had he not been surrounded by hundreds of dignitaries and watched over by the   
Emperor himself, Vader would have lashed out at this and strangle the snake with   
his bare hands---  
  
"Only the Emperor knows," was his answer before he turned away from the   
sickening alien.   
  
"Ah, I see," the other continued. "Since he was yours, however, I thought that   
'you' held the power of decision, my Lord."  
  
Baiting him seemed to be the Falleen's favorite past-time tonight; Vader decided   
to convince him that it was a very dangerous hobby.   
  
"Since when do you bother this much about a puny slave, Prince Xizor?" he   
inquired pointedly. "I would think that it is beyond your notice."  
  
"Were it owned by anybody else, it would be, but... Lord Vader's one and only   
slave, and who has survived both him and the Emperor for ten years now, despite   
some obviously cruel punishments, the latest one having taken place six weeks   
ago I believe. Oh yes, it is intriguing, my Lord."  
  
Even as the Falleen enumerated everything he had compiled about his son, Vader   
felt a tingling of warning at the base of his neck. The intelligent alien was   
beginning to see past his son's disguise and suspected something. He had to   
tread his next answer carefully or else... the Emperor wouldn't be pleased.   
  
"I see your network of spies is as productive, and as misleading as ever, prince   
Xizor," he commented coldly. "Has it never occurred to you that they only   
reported what they see and never wonder about what happens to the boy when he   
isn't seen. I'm sure you know that I don't bring my slave with myself when I   
leave, don't you?"  
  
As he had foreseen, his new challenge stumped the alien; he fell mute, having   
not considered that piece of the puzzle.   
  
"If you please the Emperor sufficiently, he might someday tell you what happens   
to the boy when he is out of sight... but you might wish that you had never   
asked," he finished ominously, then whirled around and headed for the nearest   
exit.  
  
From the corner of his eye, he saw Luke as he threw a surreptitious glare at the   
Falleen before rejoining him.  
  
*What you hinted at gave me the creeps, Father,* Luke commented playfully as   
they left the area of the reception.   
  
*Let's hope that the Falleen will understand it this way as well,* he answered   
him.  
  
He and his son silently made their way back home, lost in their respective   
thoughts about the events of the evening.  
  
  
  
******  
  
Hours later, Luke still wasn't asleep, his head once again filled with   
prohibited thoughts, but this time, they weren't only about a certain princess;   
they also concerned his partner and only friend.  
  
Shoving his hands deep into his pockets, he sighed in weariness at his inability   
to control his own feelings and leaned harder against the transparisteel of his   
chosen living room. He then sighed again, this time to control his rising worry   
concerning the Emperor, he leaned his forehead against the cool surface and   
closed his eyes.   
  
Why in the Force was it happening again, he whined silently. He had learnt his   
latest lesson about that, hadn't he?, he asked himself. And he certainly hadn't   
liked how it had been taught to him. So why?, he inquired to the Force, was he   
unable to stop thinking about the two girls in terms of attraction?? He wasn't,   
he sternly rebuked himself. He couldn't be, it would be his undoing, he   
reminded himself seriously.   
  
No, the princess' child-like features, beautiful brown eyes and hair weren't   
captivating, he tried to convince himself as he opened his eyes once again. No,   
she wasn't nice, it was just a lie, and no, she hadn't noticed that he even   
existed. She was a princess, cold, haughty, and selfish.  
  
Even if his thoughts seemed convincing, his inner self immediately balked at   
them and tried to defend the almost perfect stranger; Luke didn't let himself do   
so.  
  
He counterattacked by focusing on his friend... who was unfortunately also   
appealing to him all of a sudden, he remembered almost too late. He barely had   
time to stop himself from thinking the "l" word before he turned away from the   
window in search of something to clear his mind from his forbidden thoughts   
about Mara---- he stopped in shock at that sight of his father who was standing   
in the doorway.  
  
Even as he tried to regain some kind of composure and not betray himself, he   
rebuked himself for being so absorbed in his thoughts that he hadn't felt him   
come closer.  
  
  
  
Once he and his son had returned home, Vader had headed for his meditation   
chamber to consider the events of the evening and clear his mind from thoughts   
he simply didn't want to have.  
  
Hours later, he exited the room, intent to get some sleep before the morning.   
As he passed by his 'blue and purple' living room however, he changed his mind   
and decided to check on his son.  
  
Why was he still awake?, he wondered as he stepped within range of the closed   
door. Why did he feel so..., he tried to put a word on his feeling, but he   
couldn't identify it. Excitement? Worry? Frustration? The door finally   
opened and allowed him to see the object of his thoughts.  
  
His son was leaning sideways against the far windowbay, obviously lost in   
thoughts yet his complexion was far redder than usual; he surmised that his   
thoughts weren't quiet ones. As if to prove his point, Luke failed to notice   
his presence--- then started when he whirled around, as if he had made up his   
mind to do something right now.  
  
For a moment, both he and his son gazed at each other, not saying anything yet   
feeling everything that wasn't said. He himself saw beyond doubt that his son's   
main concern at the moment was the Emperor's main grief against him: his care.   
Now what could trigger this in the middle of the night?, the older man wondered   
as he stepped closer to the distraught youth. Had something happened tonight?   
Had the Emperor talked again with Luke?  
  
He dimly hoped that it wasn't the case. Last time had been enough, he thought   
even as his mind took him back in time when he had returned from his mission,   
five weeks ago. Despite the fact that his son was now completely recovered from   
what he had been put through, and that he hadn't been physically hurt this time,   
Vader could still remember very vividly how horrified he had felt when he had   
discovered where his son had been. The Emperor hadn't told him; he had learnt   
it from his son's partner: young Mara Jade. Too many days later, he had been   
present when Luke had finally been released and had collapsed unconscious in his   
arms from severe lack of food. That day, he admitted, it had been extremely   
hard to not really worry about his boy, but he had known all too well that the   
Emperor had been watching, monitoring the results of his son's latest   
discipline; he had forced himself to not put him in anymore trouble. However,   
before he had been able to speak a little with him, he had been called away on a   
new duty and had returned less than a week ago... to a son who had completely   
recovered from his latest ordeal.   
  
His talk had thus become unnecessary... until tonight. Right now, at this very   
moment, he could see that his strong boy needed advice from his father.   
  
"What is it, Luke?" he asked him once he was standing in front of him. "What's   
wrong?"  
  
At first, his son remained silent, as if considering if he should speak or not.   
  
"Luke, what happens between us remains between us," he reassured him as he took   
a step closer and rested his hand on his son's still broadening shoulder.  
  
Despite his thick leather gloves, he felt his son's tendons coil in tension at   
his touch, then, when he added his other hand, he finally relaxed slightly.   
However, he was still avoiding his gaze.   
  
"I..." the teenager finally began hesitatingly. "Did you ever," he paused, then   
visibly swallowed to gather his courage, "feel attracted to someone, Father?" he   
finished in half a whisper, as if afraid that saying it louder would alarm the   
Emperor.  
  
Even though Vader had expected something about his bad habit to care too much,   
he hadn't expected that kind of matter to come up with it. For a long moment,   
he stared at the young man who was standing in front of him, his eyes now locked   
on his own, awaiting his answer. His son, not a man yet, but already a---- Then   
it clicked.   
  
Teenage-hood.  
  
His son was dealing as best as he could with the undoubtedly raging hormones in   
his still developing biological system. Not even the Emperor's training could   
keep those from happening, he admitted to himself even as he dimly remembered   
how he himself had been, seventeen years ago. When he had seen Amidala again...   
he had been downright intoxicated by her presence, had almost become blind to   
anything but her and their love.  
  
Slowly, he nodded to answer his expectant son. "I was very attracted to your   
mother just before we truly fell in love... a long time ago," he added more   
coolly to implicitly remind his son that love was now forbidden to them.  
  
"How... how I can I control it without going through that step?" his ever clever   
boy inquired seriously. "I don't want to upset the master again, Father," he   
then admitted, his eyes shining with unshed tears of fear. "Can you help me,   
please?"  
  
For a split second, Vader almost flung aside everything the Emperor had   
discussed with him and pulled his son in a comforting embrace, but he stopped   
himself before it was too late; instead, he dried his son's tears, then invited   
him to sit down on the couch with him. Luke followed him while drying more   
tears out of his eyes with the back of his sleeve.  
  
"Tell me," Vader began seriously once he was seated at one end of the deep   
purple, leather couch. "Who is haunting your thoughts at the moment?"  
  
Luke bit his lip at this, avoided his gaze once again, then barely whispered:   
"Two girls."  
  
Once again caught unprepared, Vader did the only thing any father could do in   
his situation: he gasped in disbelief.  
  
  
  
  
At the other end of the couch, Luke cringed at his father's reaction. Yes, he   
conceded, feeling something for one girl was bad enough, but for two of them...   
And especially for him...   
  
"I'm sorry," he apologized weakly, wishing he could be stronger than that and   
deal with his problems by himself.  
  
"Hmmmm," his father finally commented more calmly, "so this was the girls   
problem you were referring to during the reception?"  
  
The young Jedi barely nodded in answer, then pulled his legs up on the couch and   
buried his face against his knees. He felt totally unworthy of everything he   
had been taught so far, he reflected glumly.  
  
"Very well, who are they?" the older man inquired seriously, now recovered from   
his shock and intent on helping him.  
  
Luke however slightly hesitated before he revealed his feelings for a perfect   
stranger. Mara would be understandable, but the princess... "Mara," he began   
slowly, "and... Princess Leia Organa... of Alderaan," he admitted shamefully.  
  
His father fell silent once again, perhaps in shock, perhaps to ponder his   
predicament, Luke didn't really know nor did he probe him; he was too busy   
keeping his own mind in check.  
  
"I should have known that your collecting information about her would lead to   
this someday," his father finally commented in slight rebuttal, but not too much   
either, he noticed. "I thought I felt something coming from you tonight," he   
then admitted, "but I never suspected that the source of your nervousness had   
been the princess."  
  
"I don't know why I feel that way about her, Father," he admitted truthfully,   
raising his head to gaze at him. "I don't know her, I've never met her for   
real... It's just..."  
  
"She intrigues you," his father finished for him. "She is your age, she is the   
last true princess of the galaxy, and she does have a most peculiar of position   
as youngest senator ever. She might not be as resourceful as, say, Mara Jade,"   
he offered seriously, "but in a way, Son, she does have attributes that attracts   
her share of manly attentions, not yours exclusively."  
  
That stung Luke. Not just him? "What do you mean?" he asked in slight   
incertitude.  
  
"I mean that several teenage boys all around the galaxy dream to someday meet   
Princess Leia Organa, and more than several 'noble' boys have requested to be   
formally introduced to her for... marital purposes."  
  
"Really?" he gaped in unpleasant disappointment.  
  
"Trust your feelings, Son."  
  
Up to now, Luke had always thought that he was the only boy to be attracted to   
the princess, but under his father's cold certitude that he wasn't, that he was,   
in fact, part of what was known as propaganda victim in the psychology world,   
his anger flared slightly at himself; his feelings for the princess dissolved to   
almost nothing... although, a slight ember remained, at the bottom of his now   
cooler heart.   
  
"What a fool I am," he cursed himself openly even as he clenched his fists in   
frustration. "With everything I know, I shouldn't have fallen for that---"  
  
"You were young, Luke," his father reminded him more gently. "You needed to   
relax from your hard training; she was your escape, but 'I'," he added, pointing   
at himself, "should have stopped it before it put you into trouble."  
  
"Guess we're both guilty then," he muttered, then regained his composure. "What   
about Mara?" he inquired seriously. "I can't love her either yet I'm always   
with her... and I miss her when we're not," he admitted to his father.  
  
  
  
  
The Force bond, Vader reflected as he considered his son's question. As pre-  
destined soul mates, the youths were naturally more than attracted to one   
another, and, he conceded, he greatly doubted that anything would keep them   
apart for much longer. They were closing their seventeenth birthday, and with   
it, their maturity. According to the old Jedi books he had read, it was the   
point of no return for two predestined lovers. Once maturity was reached, they   
'would' end together, join path and become one as they were meant to be.   
  
Not even the Emperor would be able to stop it, he reflected as he gazed at his   
son, and especially not given the strength of the bond between the two youths.   
  
"What did you do last time that you had to control your care for her?" he asked   
his son seriously.   
  
"I focused only on what we had to do and her answers or work, nothing else, but   
it doesn't work anymore," he complained slightly. "Now, no matter how much I   
don't want to think about her personality, or..." he blushed slightly, then   
averted his eyes. "Anyway, it doesn't work anymore," he summarized without   
further explanation.  
  
Vader couldn't help but smirk at his son's discomfiture. No matter how   
different he was from the other sixteen-year-old boys of the universe, when it   
came to the more physical aspects of his growth, he was exactly like them. He   
dimly wondered if the girl had similar feelings for his son, then made a note to   
discuss this with the Emperor first hour the following day.  
  
He knew now that nothing would keep the two youths away from one another on the   
intimate plan for much longer, and he didn't want to see either children hurt   
because of what was totally out of their control.  
  
"Continue to counter your thoughts with those, Luke," he advised him. "Remember   
that too much care might put both of you in harm's way; I suspect it will dampen   
your improper feelings.  
  
His child blushed at the implicit of his comment, then nodded in agreement. "I   
sure don't want to be the source of trouble for her," he commented seriously.   
  
"There you go. Now, go to bed and clear your mind of everything but the Force.   
You have a busy day tomorrow," he reminded him although he didn't know what that   
business would be.  
  
He only knew that his son's days were always as busy, if not busier, than his   
own were.  
  
"Yes, Father," he nodded tiredly, then stood to his feet and shuffled his way   
out of the living room.  
  
Once alone, Vader considered those latest events. Whether the Emperor liked it   
or not, he resolved, he would have to let the two youths live the love that was   
already churning inside their hearts.  
  
He didn't really know for sure that the girl was in a state similar to that of   
his son, but, he conceded, if the way she had intervened tonight to take his son   
out of the princess' presence was anything to go by... she had been jealous of   
his interest in the other girl, which meant, he summarized, that she too was   
slowly falling in love with his son.  
  
He decided to find a way to use this unavoidable love for the Emperor's benefit,   
and thus obtain his benediction to let it grow.  
  
He himself knew all too well what a denied love could do to someone, and dark   
lord or no, he didn't wish this for his sole child: his son. He deserved to be   
with Mara Jade; he had more than earned the reward of this love in his life.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
The next morning, Vader was true to his decision and went first thing in the   
morning to the Emperor's throne room. However, as was custom with his master   
when he hadn't summoned him, he made him wait in the Grand Corridor for hours on   
end.  
  
Sometimes, Vader reflected to himself as he gazed outside at the sight of the   
teeming city, it almost felt as if the Emperor wanted him to ponder if his   
unplanned visit truly was necessary or if it could be postponed. He also   
received the same treatment when he was trying to call him from the Executor.   
However, he scolded himself, he knew better than to have such thoughts about his   
master. The Emperor was a busy man with a very tight schedule between his   
visitors.  
  
An unplanned visitor had to wait, and only himself or his top agents/servants   
like his son and his friend had the privilege of being heard on the same day.   
Anybody else was turned away, to the muzzle of blasters if need be.  
  
Hence, he settled in to wait as long as he had to; what he had discovered about   
his son was important enough to postpone his own duties for a whole day if he   
had to. In front of him, the busy lines of traffic filled the sky, the floating   
cars forming perfect, orderly rows of vehicles which progressed at a steady pace   
in the yellow light of early morning. If only they could instigate that kind of   
order on all the worlds, he reflected seriously. It was perfect order, everyone   
aware of their place and being content to fulfill their role the way they had to   
do it for the Emperor's greatness.   
  
The very opposite of the rim worlds where everything was chaotic and violent   
rebellion. Now that the Jedi Order was almost completely eradicated, he himself   
could dedicate more of his time to bringing much needed peace and order to the   
galaxy. However, he conceded, the chaos was such that it would take years to   
even be able to rebuild what had already been destroyed by the upstart   
rebellions.  
  
He knew that his son and his friend were greatly involved in neutralizing the   
resources of such groups, but despite their awesome talents, the youths could   
only do so much. They would need his help and---  
  
His comlink went off; it was his turn.  
  
He turned away from the always mesmerizing sight of Imperial City and headed for   
the heavy double doors of his master's throne room.  
  
  
  
  
Engrossed in his own study of his domain, the Emperor didn't turn around to   
greet his servant as the tall man knelt respectfully behind him.  
  
"Good morning, Master," he told him formally.  
  
"You wished to speak with me, Lord Vader?" he asked coldly, letting him know how   
unhappy he was about his attitude.  
  
He himself was perfectly aware that the dark lord had cancelled a meeting with   
his spies to speak with him.  
  
"Yes, Master," Vader told him as he stood to his feet yet remained where he was.   
"It concerns a most important matter."  
  
"Your son, perhaps?" he commented in mild disgust. The boy, he reflected, was   
the only one who could make his father change a top secret meeting. Vader cared   
too much, he decided. He would have to---  
  
"My son and Mara Jade, Master," the dark lord explained seriously. "The   
children are soul mates."  
  
The Emperor barely turned around to pin his servant with his coldest glare.   
"Yes, I know. I remember telling 'you' this, Lord Vader," he reminded him.  
  
"Their time is coming, Master," the other man answered him without missing a   
beat.  
  
"Time?" he frowned, wondering what his right hand was referring to? A time of   
recognition? Certainly not for their skills since they were active agents since   
the age of fourteen. It had also settled the problem he had had with the boy's   
impatience.  
  
"They will soon be seventeen years old, Master, and the closer they will draw to   
eighteen, the more they will be attracted to one another until they will   
inevitably acknowledge their love for one another and become one as they are   
meant to be."  
  
"Well, we shall not let them reach this point, then, shall we, Lord Vader?" he   
inquired, implicitly warning his right hand to stop it from happening or else   
'he' would do so.  
  
  
  
Vader cringed inwardly at the Emperor's words, then braced himself and shook his   
head.   
  
"We won't be able to stop it from happening, Master," he told him seriously.   
"It is their destiny; their paths will soon join into a single one, as will   
their souls."  
  
Flashes of blue energy suddenly appeared at the fingertips of the Emperor's left   
fingers, then they were gone and he clenched his fist in frustration.   
  
"I shall not tolerate more care in your son than I already do, Vader," the ruler   
spat in disgust. "He might be one of us for the moment, but more corruption and   
he will become an enemy, a Jedi," he sneered.  
  
"Luke will not become a Jedi, Master," Vader reassured his master. "He hates   
them as much as I do. However, his bond with Mara is not Light nor Dark... and   
can greatly serve you," he added with just the right touch of temptation in his   
tone of voice.  
  
As he had expected, it helped the Emperor to calm down his rising temper. He   
completely turned toward him this time. "Explain yourself," he ordered him.  
  
"According to the information I uncovered," he began seriously, "Force soul-  
mates will be reunited no matter the circumstances, the time, or even the   
people. As long as they will be separate, they will not reach their full   
potential, but once they join together, in every way possible, they will become   
like one yet remain two beings. For two agents like my son and Jade," he   
continued thoughtfully, "the speed of communication would be unlike anything we   
have ever seen for they would always know what the other think and is doing   
without the need to even word their thoughts. Mara Jade would also gain more   
knowledge of the Force through Luke while my son would gain more focus from   
her."  
  
"And they would always remain so?" the wary ruler inquired dryly.  
  
"The bond is impervious to almost anything," he nodded.  
  
"Except?" the Emperor prompted him.  
  
"I couldn't find out about this, Master," the dark lord apologized honestly. "I   
killed the Jedi before he had time to finish his memoir," he commented more   
coolly.  
  
The Emperor barely nodded in understanding, then turned away from him once again   
and fell deep in thoughts.  
  
Vader patiently waited for his decision. As it always was with him, he knew   
that it would be final, without any appeal possible.   
  
  
  
Jedi soul-mates completely joined as one, the Emperor mused slowly. The   
troublesome yet powerful Jedi upstart with his most loyal, blindly obedient Jade   
project. He would definitely obtain a very efficient tool to keep the boy in   
line, he conceded, and the girl would be less vulnerable thanks to the boy's   
income of power. As far as those elements went, he reflected greedily, he   
wasn't worried.  
  
What sat less well with this new element though was the necessary love between   
the youths. For years now he had taught the boy to not give into his feelings,   
had begun to literally scare him from feeling anything. At last, he was getting   
results... and would now have to deny them?? He felt the temptation to lash out   
on the boy's mind for the new trouble he was responsible for, but he refrained   
himself.  
  
According to the child's father, it wasn't his doing, nor Jade's. Instead, it   
was the Force, and the Force served him very well. If it had brought two pre-  
destined soul-mates to his feet and in his claws, then, he reflected seriously,   
he could surmise that their being together would serve him better than his   
keeping them apart.  
  
Their friendship had sure been worth the trouble of tolerating care in the   
children, he admitted to himself, then conceded that it had even been necessary   
to obtain satisfying results.   
  
Vader's discovery was unpleasant, and would not be implemented right away, he   
decided, but he would prepare himself for the day when he would truly have to   
make a decision regarding the children... his best agents on all fronts.  
  
He refocused on his right arm, who hadn't been caring after all; he had been   
efficient.   
  
"Well done, Lord Vader," he finally commented as he turned around to face him   
once more. "This discovery has just saved us much trouble," he commented in   
disgust. "However," he added seriously, "our current conversation shall remain   
between us. If the youths are indeed drawn to one another as you have read,   
then I will tolerate their love, in exchange of even better work of course," he   
added greedily, "but if the legend doesn't happen, we shall maintain things as   
they are at the moment."  
  
"As you wish, Master," Vader bowed deeply.   
  
"Good. Go back to your duties now. We need the information about the rebellion   
on Nirauan," he reminded him dryly.  
  
  
  
  
"Yes, Master," Vader bowed once again and turned on his heel, then headed out of   
the throne room.  
  
On his way down the long stairs, he allowed himself to sigh inwardly. His son   
and his friend were safe from the Emperor's wrath.  
  
Now all that remained to be seen was if his information had been right, or more   
lies from the hated Jedi scholars.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Unaware of what the older dark Jedis had discovered, the younger ones continued   
with their regular duties, at first as if their bond would never act up between   
them... but as the days, then weeks passed, its effects began to appear in the   
youths, making them feel attraction, growing interest and even making them dream   
about their best friend.  
  
Perfectly aware of the consequences of such feelings, both agents tried to   
squash them; it only made them stronger and more dazing when they returned.   
They didn't threaten their efficiency during missions, but practice became   
another matter altogether.  
  
  
  
That evening, Luke and Mara were together in their private gym, practicing their   
Sluissi while pitting their muscles against Coruscant's gravity. For the past   
weeks, they had fulfilled their regular duties while carefully avoidind standing   
too close to one another, not per common agreement, but because neither of them   
wanted to take risks with the strange, demanding feelings that were now   
definitely surging within themselves every time they touched. They were both   
careful to keep that fact from each other as well as from their master; both   
teenagers feared that he would blame it on Luke.   
  
To counter their less and less unexplainable reaction to one another, they both   
challenged themselves to their limits, thus the other as they had been doing   
since the beginning of their training together, some nine years ago now.  
  
  
  
Luke pushed upward one last time with his arm, thus reaching the roof where his   
straight rope was securely attached. Besides him, his friend touched her head   
to the same ceiling.  
  
*First down?" he asked her in Sluissi.  
  
Without answering him, except for a challenging smirk, she expertly flipped her   
position, coiling her legs around the end of the rope, then almost instantly let   
herself slide downward. Luke let go a split second after her. The floor   
suddenly rushed up at him, threatening him with a very rough, painful if not   
deadly landing if he missed his shot.   
  
He had no intention to crash on the floor though; instead, he focused his mind,   
let go of the rope and flipped down to the cushioned carpet. Mara's hand   
touched the floor at the same time than his feet did. Once he regained his   
complete senses, he looked down at her inverted form; she had tightened her legs   
just in time to avoid a smashing landing, he surmised---- then his eyes rested a   
little longer on her shapely, long legs ; he could make out any details he   
wanted through the body-tight fabric... Her muscled legs, her firm ass cheeks   
that were invading his dreams lately, her lean shape that was perfectly hiding   
her true abilities, her upper curves...  
  
Her feet suddenly spread apart. Luke snapped out of his reverie and shamefully   
turned away from her while she flipped back to her feet; he worked double-time   
on regaining his cool composure while ridding his mind of what was now   
inhabiting it.  
  
  
  
Mara noticed his uncharacteristic silence; she looked up from her inverted   
position. Gods was he handsome, she reflected privately. Even from under, she   
couldn't detach her eyes from his hard-work-crafted, bare arms, his eyes that   
seemed naive yet saw everything and registered everything... his well-trimmed   
chest that felt extremely good when it was close to hers...   
  
Suddenly aware of her line of thought, she dropped her gaze and flipped back to   
a more normal position. She couldn't keep thinking that way about him, she   
admonished herself. She couldn't---  
  
Since she was distracted by her friend's close presence, she slightly   
miscalculated her landing; she ended up so close to him that her arm and right   
side seemed to melt against his left side as she stumbled in him.   
  
They both gasped in unexpectedly pleasant surprise, then their eyes met almost   
as quickly as the now familiar bolt of awareness spread all over their bodies.   
The mysterious bolt ended its trek in their eyes, or so they saw in each other's   
colorful pools of disbelief, warmth, and definitive attraction.   
  
Mara slowly became aware that her breath had quickened to a much faster rate   
during the past seconds than throughout her whole work-out session; so had   
Luke's, she then noted. Their eyes were glued together, as if held by an   
extremely powerful magnet. Their bodies remained still, except for their heads   
which slowly, oh so slowly, began to yield under the magnet's pressure.  
  
By the Force she wanted to kiss Luke, she gaped at herself in disbelief as she   
tried yet failed to resist his appeal. No, she tried to object, they couldn't,   
she couldn't risk his safety like this---- yet she reflexively closed her eyes   
as his breath brushed against hers--- then she snapped her eyes open when he   
took a step away.  
  
What?--- What the heck had she been doing? she sternly scolded herself as the   
pressure inside herself diminished to a quieter level.  
  
  
  
Luke turned away from his friend and raked his fingers through his hair in an   
attempt to regain some kind of control over himself. This couldn't be   
happening, he reminded himself sternly. He couldn't feel attracted to his   
friend, he had no right to... He wouldn't anger the Emperor, even less be the   
reason of a punishment for her who was so much better than he himself was.  
  
He took a deep breath, then made his decision; he would leave her for the rest   
of the evening. He called a towel to his hand, threw it on his shoulder, then   
addressed her while keeping his back to her.  
  
*I'll check the master's new ship." he told her in Sluissi, trying to change the   
still hot feeling that was present in the room.  
  
She didn't answer him. Instead, she turned away from him, as if pouting.  
Wonderful, now he had miffed her, he sighed as he walked toward the exit.   
Darn weak---  
  
He had almost reached the door when she spoke again.  
  
"Luke," she called in basic. "I should tell you this more often, but..." she   
began, obviously hesitant. "Well, you're a great guy," she told him gently,   
shyly.  
  
Luke dared turn around to meet her gaze once more. He thus realized that she   
was as confused as he was by what was happening to them, that she was as afraid   
by it as he was because of their master, yet... she did like him a lot, he   
understood through their bond.  
  
However, she knew that it was against their master's orders and wouldn't tempt   
him again.  
  
Oh, he thought in answer to this thought, did he wish that they could---  
  
When new, fresh feelings of lust and desire assaulted his mind, he turned around   
once again and headed straight for the shower stall. He needed a cold, very   
cold shower, he decided, steeling himself for the unpleasant experience. Better   
that than displease their master though.  
  
Unbeknown to him, Mara chose to do exactly the same thing, sharing his line of   
thoughts.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
After his shower, Luke hurried to leave their private headquarters, assuming   
once more his role of a slave.   
  
Ever since he had covered his real mark with a tattoo, he had had to create a   
new mark, on his neck this time, one that would always be visible, hence, keep   
him out of trouble when he was playing his subservient role. His master had   
promised him that he would have it removed by his best surgeons in time, when   
the time would be right for him to claim his place as his new dark lord.   
  
Now aged of seventeen, Luke couldn't wait for that blessed day to happen. He   
served his master devotedly, helping him to keep the galaxy under his control...   
but he didn't trust him, nor Mara, with Jedi business. For the past years, he   
hadn't really minded anymore, but now that he was almost an adult... he was   
beginning to grow antsy about not being given the chance to prove himself   
against the few remaining ones.  
  
Perhaps that would be his test, he reflected seriously, forcing down his   
feelings of impatience. It would be logical, he admitted as he walked with his   
head bowed. After all, when he would acknowledge him, he would become Lord Luke   
Vader... someone to be reckoned and feared by everybody, even Jedi Knights.  
  
He liked the ring of that name, he smiled slightly, bowing his head further   
down to hide his expression. When he entered the more crowded corridors, he   
left the middle of the corridor to the other denizens of the palace, only   
stepping aside to avoid the stormtroopers who were guarding the entrances of   
some quarters.   
  
Some of them naturally bullied him for as long as he was within their reach; as   
he walked away from one such trooper, he reflected that he he could've knocked   
that one dead without his being aware of it, but he would have then blown his   
perfect cover to go as he pleased within his master's palace.  
  
His master wouldn't have been pleased, he reminded himself sternly.   
  
His well-known status of the Emperor's errand slave boy gave him access to most   
of areas of the castle. Thus, he bore once again the troopers' actions, telling   
himself that if they overdid it, his master would find a way to punish them---  
  
He snapped his head up and looked toward the secret hangar that was concealed in   
the seemingly dead end. He reached out--- Someone was in there, he realized   
with a start. He instantly reached for some kind of weapon.  
  
He belatedly realized that he had been so distracted by his friend while   
changing clothes that he had forgotten to grab his basic weapons before leaving.  
  
Wonderful, he cursed inwardly, then set about studying his remaining options.   
  
After making sure that no one saw him enter his master's secret hangar, he   
slipped inside the secret door. The ship was already in its warm-up cycle, he   
noted with growing urgency.  
  
Whoever it was, he surmised, had managed to get past his master's defense   
systems, had stolen the data on how to start the sleek new model of Tie fighter-  
-- and was going to take off with it if he didn't do something soon.  
  
Without further thoughts, Luke tried to choke the intruder through the Force; he   
found himself unable to connect with the other's senses. For a moment, he was   
too puzzled to think about trying something else. He had felt the man before he   
had boarded the ship, hadn't he? He had to be there, he tried again--- then it   
clicked: ysalamiri. His master had kept an ysalamiri in the prototype, probably   
to shield whoever was working on it from probes from the drat Jedi survivors.  
  
Well so much for using the Force, he thought grimly as he surveyed the hangar   
for a new strategy. Meanwhile, the ship hovered upward, ready to blast off.  
Luke made up his mind; He had no other choice.  
  
He reached out for the fighter's engine, brushed the zone that was just out of   
the ysalamiri's bubble, and pulled on the feed and cooling leads that were   
surrounding the already overheating engine. He barely had time to dive behind a   
nearby console before the slick little ship exploded in a fiery display of   
explosions.   
  
The force of the explosion reached Luke's inadequate cover; it hurled him   
against the wall, then he barely had time to call on the Force to shield   
Himself against the remains of the explosion.   
  
He thus barely avoided being smashed by whatever bounced off his shield.   
  
  
Once the explosion was over, he turned back toward where the ship had been.  
Smoking wreckage, torn up walls and slanted ceiling and floor testified that it   
had once existed... and that he himself had once again pushed it. He felt his   
eyes widen in slight fear. His master wouldn't be happy...  
  
  
  
******  
  
Indeed the Emperor wasn't pleased.  
  
As he surveyed the remnants of what had been the sole prototype of a more   
efficient TIE fighter model, Palpatine decided that he didn't know who to curse   
more: the hated Jedi spies, or his semi-Jedi servant who had just destroyed any   
hopes of ever rebuilding the prototype since the ship had taken its plans and   
everything concerning it when it had destroyed the surrounding landing bay.  
  
He turned around toward his waiting, faithful royal bodyguards.   
  
"Bring the guards of this floor to me," he ordered angrily.  
  
One of his bodyguard bowed to him and left to fulfill his wish while the other   
kept his eyes peeled to protect him with his life if need be.  
  
Not that such a sacrifice would be needed, the evil man reflected dimly as he   
took another moment to study his servant's latest handiwork, but no the men's   
ignorance about his powers kept them loyal to death. It pleased him. Now, he   
thought less happily, for his young dark Jedi... He hadn't been caught in the   
hangar after the explosion; by the time the nearby guards had come by to check   
what had happened, he had been long gone via one of the secret corridors.  
  
However, he thought in annoyance, the child had once again destroyed one of his   
toys, this one being irreplaceable compared to the almost finished chemical   
experiment he had ruined a few months ago. He had forgiven him last time,   
warning him to pay extra attention to his projects when his missions were   
bringing him close to them, but this time, he decided with finality, he wouldn't   
be lenient.  
  
The boy would learn once and for all to protect his top secret projects, with   
his life if need be.  
  
He turned around once again; his royal guard was already coming back with the   
ten guards who had been on duty in the surrounding corridors.  
  
  
Ten minutes later, and ten deaths later, he headed for his quarters where his   
already humbled servant was waiting for him and his punishment.   
  
As he walked passed the teenager, he viciously wrapped a Force-leash around his   
neck, and yanked him down hard before pulling him forward with a sharp tug of   
his mind; the youth had no choice but to fall in step and follow. He felt some   
of his anger dissipate as the boy's fear entered his awareness; the child was   
now convinced that he would be severely punished.  
  
Perhaps he would be, the ruler admitted to himself even as he released the boy   
once his doors were closed. However, the conviction he had had in the hangar   
bay was now diffuse; he recognized the Force warning regarding this latest   
accident. Something beside a destroyed ship had happened, he understood.  
  
Facing the still subservient youth, he crossed his arms.   
  
"Explain yourself." he ordered coldly.   
  
The child bowed his head respectfully yet in shame. "I'm sorry, Master," he   
began in apology, "I tried to save your craft, but the pilot was protected by an   
ysalamiri. I couldn't kill him with the Force and it was too late for me to   
board the ship," he continued truthfully.  
  
"And?" he sneered in disdain at his pitiful excuse. "What stopped you from   
disabling it without destroying it?" he spat, taking a step closer to the   
teenager, his relatively controlled temper resurfacing to punish the boy---  
  
"I... wasn't armed, Master," he admitted even as he cringed in obvious fear.   
  
The Emperor stopped in mid-motion at that.  
  
"Unarmed?" he whispered darkly, taking another step closer to the boy.   
  
"I'm sorry, Master," the young Jedi hurried to apologize as he cringed further   
at his implicit threat. "I was distracted tonight; I only wanted to see your   
new prototype when I felt the intruder's presence in the hangar, then I had no   
other choice but to destroy your ship. Please, forgive me, Master," he   
apologized earnestly once again, bowing his head further.   
  
The Emperor wouldn't have any of that; he raised his hand to the boy's chin and   
swiftly forced him to look at him. "And what distracted you from your duty this   
time, young Vader?" he asked dangerously, his fingers already tightening around   
the boy's small chin.  
  
At first, the boy's eyes widened in great fear and it seemed as if he wouldn't   
answer him, but his latest lessons had taught him well and he obeyed him.  
  
"Mara," he answered simply, then lowered his eyes when he let go of his chin in   
shock.  
  
For a long moment, the Emperor remained silent and still in great displeasure.   
  
It had begun.   
  
What himself and Vader had discussed about the youths had begun; the boy was   
already loosing his focus to the presence of the girl, and vice-versa he   
suspected although he didn't have any tangible proof about the girl. Up until   
now, he had truly believed that Vader's discovery had been nothing but a myth, a   
legend to fill the Jedi libraries with nonsense; deep down, he had never thought   
that he would have to consider his choice between the actual status quo... and   
deeper love for a deeper link between the children.  
  
For a brief, very brief moment, he considered finishing it right away and be   
done with the troublesome boy, but the moment his hand shot upward to touch his   
neck, he changed his mind.  
  
The boy was powerful, was dedicated to him and wanted to please him to earn the   
right to be free from his 'slavery' role and serve him with his father. He was   
too much a powerful asset to destroy, he decided while he left his hand on the   
boy's neck, dimly reveling in his growing fear while he pondered the future.  
  
The boy would survive once again, he finally decided, but until he and Jade   
truly came together and went beyond being distracted by one another's presence,   
he wouldn't openly allow him to love her, nor would he tolerate any wavering in   
the boy's focus.  
  
  
  
When the Emperor's cold hand gripped his neck, Luke braced himself for a very   
bad punishment. Given his training, he knew that he should have never forgotten   
his weapons, that he should have felt the danger much sooner---  
  
His master shocked him hard in the neck, forcing him to his knees when his   
strengths abandoned him--- then nothing.   
  
While Luke worked hard on his senses to not give into the strange   
unconsciousness that was threatening to overcome him, his master took hold of   
his chin and made him look at him. The youth tried to look as deferentially as   
he could given the situation.  
  
"That was for destroying the hangar and being distracted by your companion,   
child," the other informed him coldly, "as long as you correct the situation,"   
he added warningly.  
  
Luke weakly nodded in answer; he understood the warning.  
  
"However, since you saved my prototype's idea from being stolen completely, I   
will not punish you for the destruction of the plans and prototype, but..." he   
paused once again warningly. "I shall not always be this lenient," he finished   
darkly.  
  
"I will be more attentive, Master," he promised earnestly.   
  
"Good. Next time you destroy something in the palace or my bases, young Vader,   
you will be punished according to the amount of destruction you've caused, am I   
clear?" he asked darkly.  
  
"Yes, Master." Luke bowed to hide his fear.   
  
"Dismissed,"  
  
Luke left his master's private quarters, feeling even more humbled then when he   
had entered them. On his way toward the closest slave stairway, he reflected   
that he was far from being worthy to serve his master if he still had to   
threaten him with punishments.   
  
He would have to take example on his friend, he tiredly.   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
To be continued in part 10: Bonding  
  
  
  
Well, liked it?  
  
  
  
Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)   
(Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff will be sent to the garbage   
smasher without being read.) 


	10. part 10: Bonding

Luke Vader: From Slave to Dark Lord of the Sith   
Part 10: Bonding  
By SJ 15-10-00/12-12-00  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: None of this belong to me; everything in the Star Wars Universe   
belongs to George Lucas.   
See my home page for more details.   
Http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
  
__________________  
  
  
  
  
  
Two weeks later, he still hadn't forgiven himself for what had happened to his   
master's prototype. Thus, unbeknown to his father and friend, he still thought   
that he deserved some kind of punishment for its destruction.   
  
He wasn't worthy to serve his master yet, he kept telling himself.  
  
Hence, when they were told to penetrate yet another underground base, Luke   
volunteered to let himself be captured to provide cover for his friend. It was   
their favorite strategy when they were dealing with bases that were heavily   
guarded by very alert sentinels, sentry droids, and even spying eyes that were   
only turned off when someone was entering through the main door.  
  
Unlike the other times though, Mara was worried about Luke; with what he had in   
mind to attract the enemy's attention, she was aware that he would earn himself   
quite a beating, and their target's group had a more than vicious reputation.  
  
Not that it was the first time, she tried to reassure herself; they had both   
exchanged turns when they had had to be hurt for their master's glory, but this   
was something else.   
  
She couldn't say how, or why, but she could definitely feel it. However, there   
was no changing his mind.  
  
  
  
  
  
A few days later, she watched her friend as he pretended to seek vengeance   
against their target, refrained herself from intervening while they pummeled him   
until he was down on the ground, then forced herself to change her focus as she   
slipped past the distracted guards and deactivated installations to slip inside   
the base.   
  
  
  
Luke felt himself being dragged down some kind of corridor, then thrown down on   
a steel floor.  
  
"Some kinda kid who wanna avenge his sister," one goon slurred.   
  
"Is that so?" a slightly less slurring voice answer, "then let's teach him to   
mind his own business," the other sneered in disgust.  
  
The three other goons that were in the room with him chuckled meanly. Luke   
forced himself not to react at this, as if he were still out, like the untrained   
kid he was supposed to be; he whimpered, then groaned as they lifted him off   
the floor to hold him in a strong grip.  
  
  
  
  
As she killed three extra goons with her accurate double aim, Mara reflected   
that she had never been this quick before. She had been in the building for   
less than five minutes, yet she had already acquired the information that she   
had to retrieve, had killed her targets, and was ready to destroy all evidence   
of her mission.  
  
Perhaps knowing that her dear friend was in danger was improving her efficiency,   
she admitted as she continued to silently walk toward his holding pen; she   
didn't meet with new resistance on her way there.  
  
Finally, she was close enough to tell him to break free; he didn't react. She   
deepened their bond--- and stilled in disbelief. To her complete shock, she   
discovered that he was letting the others hurt him; he wasn't even thinking   
about defending himself.  
  
His scream chilled her to the bone. Suddenly incensed, she hastened her steps,   
shot the door open and killed off the two bums who were beating her friend.   
While she took care of the one who was holding the young man up, the second man   
aimed at her; he might have hit her, but Luke suddenly kicked out, snapping the   
thug's two legs under the strength of the impact, then he forcefully snapped his   
neck. The other slumped down to the floor, dead.   
  
So did her friend, she realized once she snapped out of her bemusement. Why   
hadn't he done that before? she wondered in confusion. Reflexively, she slung   
his arm around her shoulders, grabbed hold of his belt and pulled him to his   
feet.   
  
He moaned in painful complaint.   
  
"Come on, flyboy, we have to get out," she reminded him.   
  
Since he was, like herself, trained to see the end of his mission no matter what   
happened, he fought past his pains and began to limp as fast as he could, using   
her help to make it all the way to their safe point.   
  
Behind them, yet another base crumpled down to rubbles as they completed their   
latest mission.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
By the time they reached his father's castle, Luke's shoulder finished   
dislocating itself, thus knocking him unconscious with the sudden, unbearable   
pain. Mara slung his whole body over her shoulders and entered the palace.   
  
To her surprise, Vader was there; she almost ran in him the moment she began to   
step out of the turbolift.  
  
"What happened?" he asked as he instantly relieved her from his son's weight.   
  
"I don't know, my Lord," she admitted truthfully. "He wasn't supposed to let   
them hurt him this bad," she told him even as she considered her friend's action   
out loud. "He was supposed to use the deeper shield like we usually do... I   
would never have let him volunteer if I had known..." she commented earnestly,   
silently promising herself to be wary about that next time he would volunteer   
for a decoy role.  
  
Darth Vader, dark lord of the Sith gazed sideways at her, then refocused on his   
son who was now hanging limply in his arms.   
  
"Stubborn little..." he muttered, then walked faster.  
  
Mara almost had to run to keep up with him.   
  
"What is it?" she asked him.  
  
"He got the punishment he wanted," he explained coolly.  
  
They entered the closest medbay.  
  
"What punishment?" she asked him uncertainly.  
  
Vader ignored her, immediately setting his hand on his son's temple to initiate   
a healing trance. Meanwhile, Mara remained silent, watching the unconscious   
young man.   
  
Whereas he usually looked invincible and strong, she reflected that his cuts, as   
well as his black and blues, were making him look vulnerable, fragile. Foolish   
or not, she suddenly decided, he didn't deserve to be in pain right now.  
  
She walked closer to Luke's bunk and joined the dark lord's effort,  
resting her fingers against her friend's temple; she initiated her own healing   
trance, for once not bothering if it couldn't compare with the dark lord's   
strength.  
  
The only thing that mattered to her at the moment, she admitted, was to heal her   
best friend.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
The next morning, she woke up to the feeling of resting her head on something   
warm, comfortable, satisfying---- then she realized where she was! She swiftly   
raised her head in shock from her friend's unarmed shoulder, then searched for   
his father who was undoubtedly very closed by.   
  
"He's all right now," the dark lord commented from a seat in the corner of the   
small room, "and he won't persecute himself anymore when the Emperor won't   
punish him," he added seriously.  
  
While she dimly noted that they chair hadn't been there last night, she   
refocused on what the adult had just said.  
  
"What do you mean, persecuting himself?" she asked him, throwing a worried look   
at her resting friend.  
  
"He thought that he deserved a punishment that the Emperor wouldn't give him   
because he was beneath the master," Vader explained seriously.   
  
"What??" Mara gaped, her eyes fastening themselves on her friend's features this   
time.   
  
What could have gone through his head for him to think such a preposterous---  
  
"Don't worry, Mara," the dark lord commented less coolly as he stepped closer to   
the bed. "He won't do that again. I will teach him once and for all   
that if the Emperor wants to punish him, he will do so, and if he wants to   
forgive him, he will do so as well."  
  
Mara continued to gape at her friend in bemusement ; he had wanted---  
  
"I never suspected that his devotion went to those ends," she commented in a   
small, awed voice.  
  
"I suppose it was only a matter of time with him being alone all the time..."   
Vader answered thoughtfully. "I'll set a few things straight with him before I   
return aboard the Executor," he promised the young teenager.   
  
"Thank you, my Lord," she bowed her head while remaining beside her friend.   
  
  
  
Vader noticed how the young woman was literally reluctant to leave his son's   
side. First her taking part in his healing, then her falling asleep on him, and   
now this. Luke wasn't the only one who was dealing with strange attractions, he   
reflected in slight amusement.   
  
"You care a lot about him, don't you, Mara?" he asked her less coolly than   
usual.   
  
As he had expected, the girl didn't admit her love for his son; she, like Luke,   
knew all too well how prohibited it was in their life.  
  
"I... he his my partner, my Lord, my friend and only companion. I... wouldn't   
want to loose him for anything," she answered honestly.  
  
"And I know that he feels the same for you, child. He told me so," he told her   
warmly.  
  
"Well, I... huh, we're always together, my Lord," the young woman tried to   
defend herself even as her eyes strayed once again toward Luke's sleeping   
features.   
  
"And that's what makes you stronger than any other team in the Emperor's ranks,"   
he commented seriously. "Luke needs you, Mara," he continued more earnestly.   
"He has to control his caring habits, but believe me when I say that he would   
act differently with you if he could."  
  
Mara gaped at him in disbelief at that, then, as if understanding what he had   
been trying to tell her, she blanched and stepped away from his son.   
  
"I...," she mumbled even as her eyes traveled from his son to himself, "I have   
to go, my Lord. Tell Luke I'll be in our quarters."  
  
"I will," he reassured her, then she was gone as if she had just been scalded by   
the thought of Luke being in love with her.  
  
The bond was definitely drawing them closer and closer, he reflected while he   
sat back in his chair, but they weren't there yet. Both youth had to admit   
their love first.  
  
In the meantime, he reflected more seriously, he had to set his son's mind   
straight.  
  
  
  
  
******   
  
  
  
As Vader had promised Mara, he used his time downside to reset his son's   
perception about some things. Throughout his week 'home', he brought him with   
himself whenever he went to the palace, finding exceptional reasons to spend   
time in the Emperor's court. He thus gave him some much needed insight on his   
master.   
  
  
As he stood behind his 'master', Luke saw once again that his true master wasn't   
only a military commander who was ordering him around. He was a galactic ruler,   
a man who felt all kinds of feelings like everybody else, not only anger.   
  
Today, beautiful women seemed to have his favor since almost all his known   
concubines were present at his reception. Other then the women though, there   
were also men from the military and civilian services, and Prince Xizor, as   
always.  
  
*The Emperor favors him, Son. His connections with Black Sun make him an   
invaluable asset for him,* his father reminded him coolly.  
  
Even as he nodded inwardly in answer, a rising buzz attracted his attention   
toward his left. A grand Moff and an Admiral were currently discussing with   
each other, but the more seconds went by, and the more agitated both men grew   
until they were downright insulting each other.  
  
Now familiar with this occurrence, Luke barely gazed up at his master; as   
always, he was enjoying the confrontation he had managed to spark between two   
despicable officers.  
  
Throughout the past few days, Luke had come to understand that the Emperor   
enjoyed every pleasure that came his way, but that he especially favored   
beautiful women, gastronomic food, comforts of all kinds... and tormenting   
others any way he could think of. He also liked to make his pleasure last, no   
matter which category of delights he was enjoying. However, what entertained   
him the most was hurting others, depending on the occasion.  
  
*Now do you understand why the Emperor would never hesitate to punish you if you   
had upset him?* his father inquired seriously.  
  
*Yes, now I understand,* he agreed, equally seriously.   
  
Now he knew that if his master wasn't punishing him, it wasn't because he was   
beneath him, it was because he deserved the good treatment... because he was   
serving him well. As the angry confrontation went on, drawing others in the   
heated debate, he promised himself that he would continue to do so, on all   
aspects of his service, his emotions included.  
  
*I believe we can---* his father began, then stopped short.  
  
Luke slightly reached out to find out why he had reacted this way--- when an   
unfortunately familiar voice came up from very close in front of them.  
  
"Lord Vader, it's a pleasure to see you again," the falleen alien purred even as   
he bowed beautifully to the dark lord.  
  
"Prince Xizor," his father's answered curtly, barely nodding in answer. "I was   
just about to leave on an urgent matter," he commented coldly even as Luke   
understood his ploy and hid the comlink in his hand before pretending to pick it   
from his father's hand.  
  
"Then I won't delay you, my Lord. However, I was wondering if I could borrow   
your slave for this reception. I would have the Emperor's agreement," he added   
suavely.  
  
"For what?" the older Vader demanded even as he shot a gaze at his master; the   
ruler was still busy enjoying the upstart of a furious battle.  
  
"The slave fights are still in an hour or so," Xizor shrugged simply. "Since   
you are leaving before them, I thought that I could take care of your slave for   
you till you return for them."  
  
"'If' I returned for them," the dark lord hissed in warning even as he leaned   
forward and closer to the Falleen. "I didn't intend to use the boy for those."  
  
"Then forgive my daringness, My Lord," the wily alien bowed once again.   
  
Luke thought that he was going to leave, but instead, he stepped closer him and   
swiftly took hold of his chin; he jerked his head up and forced him to look at   
him. Luke fiercely fought down his urge to choke in disgust at the alien's   
touch while he felt his father control his impulse to kill the creature for   
touching him that way.   
  
"However, I still think he would be a most interesting fighter," he commented   
even as he slightly dug his nails in his skin. "He does seem very strong... for   
a slave," he finished slyly, letting him go.  
  
"Then your eyes deceive you, my Prince," Vader commented coldly----  
  
Then Luke felt as if a ton of leaden bricks had fallen on his shoulders; he   
crumpled to his knees, as if devoid of all his strength.   
  
"He wouldn't have lasted a single round," his father continued in the distance,   
then he forced him back to his wobbling feet. "Have a nice afternoon, Prince   
Xizor," he finished curtly, then walked toward the nearest exit, pulling his   
suddenly weakened 'slave' after himself.  
  
*I'm sorry about that, Son,* his father apologized seriously. *I had to dispel   
his clever deductions.*  
  
*I understand, Father,* Luke nodded even as the effect of his father's Force-  
simulation withdrew from his body. *It's a good thing that I wear a long and   
ample-sleeved shirt and long trousers though,* he then commented as he shook his   
head clear. *Otherwise, even that simulation wouldn't have convinced him.*  
  
*And the Emperor would have had a new face-off to enjoy,* his father added   
seriously.  
  
While they walked down the ornate corridors, Luke admitted that his father might   
have a point there; the Emperor might just have nudged the Falleen in their   
direction, knowing that he would challenge their masquerade, especially his   
father's. It was well known to everyone aware of their secret that his father   
didn't like to treat him as a slave. He did it because it was their duty, but   
he didn't like to 'act' as a slaver. He himself understood when he had to do   
things like what had just happened; he didn't hold a grief against them.  
  
They finally reached the turbolift that would take them to the private corridors   
of the elite, and from there, back into his father's palace where they would   
drop their disguise.  
  
Well, he conceded as the doors closed in front of them, he now really understood   
why his father didn't particularly like to spend time in the court... and he had   
to admit that he shared his opinion about the perversity of the group.  
  
However, he accepted that his master had a right to do so since his life was   
very demanding on him; he rarely had any free time, so when he finally had   
some... he simply enjoyed himself.  
  
And now, he thought more seriously, back to his own duty; he and Mara had just   
received a new mission from their master. As usual.  
  
  
  
  
******  
Three months later, and five missions later, Luke admitted that he was truly   
glad that his master treated well his good servants.   
  
Three days ago, he and Mara had inadvertently blown up one of their master's lab   
during their last mission, but since it had been a minor one as well as their   
target's fault for lighting up the inflammable liquid, their master had been   
lenient; he had punished them with only half of the pain they would have   
normally felt.  
  
Naturally, his body was still recovering from his discipline, making it more   
challenging for him to fight as skillfully as usual, but so was Mara's so they   
were still even, he thought seriously.  
  
He rolled away from her, jumped back to his feet, then flipped backward to land   
his hands as she tried to knock him off his feet. He flipped back to his feet;   
she was there and still knocked him down.   
  
Luke immediately pushed his feet up to throw her off him and stop her from   
pinning him, but she took hold of his legs with her hands and the Force. Thus,   
even as he pushed her off of him, she drew him back over herself with a roll,   
wrapped her strong legs around his hips, then flipped him back on the carpet; he   
flipped her again and pinned her hands and body with his owns.   
  
"I seem to win, Jade," he teased her victoriously.   
  
"I had you, flyboy," she retorted in kind. "Come on, admit that you never saw   
that thing with your legs coming," she teased him back, her voice somewhat   
breathy.  
  
Luke reluctantly nodded as he met her proud eyes--- and as it always happened   
when this particular situation took place, their gazes remained locked together;   
meanwhile, their bodies slowly became aware that they were laying very closely   
to one another at the moment. Mara minutely tightened her legs around his hips,   
pulling him closer and challenging further his self-control.   
  
Gods was she beautiful, he thought in awe, smitten once again by the mesmerizing   
qualities of his friend. She wasn't just beautiful either, he thought warmly.   
She was the best friend anyone could have, she understood him, stood by him when   
he needed help against his weaknesses, and he could always count on her   
steadfast strength. He knew that he wasn't allowed to love, to care too much,   
but he couldn't help but feel attracted, literally drawn and drowning in his   
best friend---- He had to stop it, he scolded himself. He had to put an end to   
his fantasizing and prohibited feelings for her; he couldn't anger the Emperor   
again.  
  
"Mara?" he asked uncertainly, meaning to tell her how he felt then exorcise the   
feeling with her help.  
  
"Yeah?" she answered in as a love-filled voice as his was.  
  
It didn't help him to fight against his overwhelming need to love her, not just   
care, but truly love her and be with her. Slowly, oh so slowly, he lost his   
fight against his body as he leaned closer, then decided that it had to be a   
guidance of the Force; this was how he could get rid of his weakness that was   
slowly spreading itself to his friend.  
  
'Tell her,... tell her,...' a voice seemed to chant in his mind, keeping him   
from having grave doubts about what he could feel he had to do. Was it truly   
the only way to become as good an imperial servant as Mara was? Or was he going   
to hurt both himself and her even worse than he had ever done before?  
  
'Tell her... tell her,' the mental voice continued soothing, then once his face   
was hovering above Mara's angel-like features, shouted: 'Now!'  
  
His mind overloaded with a jumble of fears and physical pressure, Luke abandoned   
his will to the Force.   
  
"I love you," he whispered in near fright before he shyly brushed his best   
friends' lips with his own, barely touching them in the process.  
  
A bolt of electric, irresistible awareness instantly coursed up and down his   
whole body, destroying all the fears and doubts that had instantly begun to pull   
him away from his act of betrayal.  
  
  
  
  
Mara, who had been downright engrossed in a study of his constantly improving   
manly features, suddenly heard his voice, then his lips were upon her owns.   
  
It was as if she had been doused by cold water.   
  
No, they couldn't do this!, she objected even as she felt an energy unlike   
anything she had ever felt course down her whole body and back up her heart and   
head. Their master would never forgive them, she moaned in complaint even as   
she released her hold on his hips. She then swiftly shifted her position and   
pushed him away from herself before rolling back to her feet.  
  
What in the stars had they been doing? she wondered even as she turned her back   
to her friend to block out the temptation of his very near presence. Yes, she   
felt attracted to him, she conceded, and he was inhabiting all her dreams and   
stray thoughts now, but she couldn't put him at risk like this, she berated   
herself. She couldn't take advantage of his weak----  
  
She had perhaps taken one or two steps toward the far away door when Luke's hand   
wrapped around her right arm, whirled her around, then his lips were once   
against pressed against hers, in a much more demanding fashion this time.   
  
The feeling of his skin against hers, of his lips touching hers, of his tongue   
coaxing her to let him in... gentle, warm, yet as unwavering as the young man   
she was falling head-first for...  
  
She let him inside; they instantly began a battle of tongues. While her hands   
and arms work their way around his neck and into his hair, his hands wrapped   
around her back and hips, pulling her closer to his own body.   
  
He was intoxicating, she dimly thought even as she tried to touch more of him   
with the rest of her shifting body. 'This' was overwhelming, shoving aside   
caution, doubt, loyalty; the only thing that mattered was Luke, her, and the   
addicting electricity that was inhabiting her body, mind, and soul.  
  
Luke began to pull her head closer to his, as if desperate to go as deep as he   
could; curiously, their bond deepened as well, allowing her to feel Luke's   
feeling almost as if they were her own.  
  
*I love you, Mara,* he sent her again with a wave of uncontrolled passion which   
he tried to hide but couldn't anymore.  
  
*And I love you, Luke,* she sent back, proving her love with her own sending.  
  
As their silent exchange continued, she too tried to get herself back under some   
kind of control, but, she admitted, it was as if a plug had been pulled on her   
heart and she couldn't close it up again. She loved Luke, would never be able   
to pretend anything else ever again...  
  
At that moment, their fingers began to grapple against their clothes, eager to   
remove them---- and both Luke and Mara jumped away from each other at that,   
suddenly remembering that this had never even been supposed to ever happen.   
They both gazed at each other's disheveled, flushed features.   
  
"What have I done?" they both asked simultaneously, then both shook their heads   
in growing fear.   
  
The Emperor wouldn't be pleased, again, she shuddered, then crushed a true spark   
of fear at the thought that he probably already knew what they had done; it was   
useless to even entertain the thought of hiding it from him.   
  
Without exchanging a single word, she and Luke put on something more proper over   
their tank tops and went to their master's secret waiting room.   
  
They both silently resolved that they would face him of their own free will   
instead of being caught red-handed, so to speak.   
  
  
  
Besides the main throne room, the teenagers waited on their knees for almost two   
hours, aware of the most attractive presence that was beside him/her, aware of   
their overpowering desire to give in and resume where they had left off, yet   
constantly fighting down their feelings to wait still and serenely for their   
master's convenience.   
  
  
******  
  
  
When the Emperor entered his secondary meeting room where his two young   
assassins had been waiting for hours on end, he knew already everything he   
needed to know.  
  
The two soul mates had broken through to one another, rattling the Force with   
their instantly increased power as they began the process of becoming one in the   
Force. While he had closely monitored the youths lately, thus coming to accept   
that this day would be unavoidable, sooner or later, it still didn't please him.  
  
The bond was made of love, not mere lust or even greed, but unadulterated love   
for one another, a devotion and feeling that had the potential to alter the   
youth's loyalty to him, perhaps even the grip that the Dark Side had on their   
souls. He wasn't 'truly' worried about Jade for she hadn't known anything but   
what he had taught her, but the boy was another matter altogether.   
  
Since he had been too late to restrain his powers given the delay between his   
father finding him and the time he had brought him to the place, the youth had   
retained the ability to use the Force without calling on his feelings. Of   
course, his mind was always set on serving him and pleasing him, thus keeping   
him in the imperial/dark side ways, but his powers were still coming from the   
Light Side... Keeping part of a Jedi alive, a Jedi that love could reinforce and   
turn into a most serious potential problem.  
  
He would not allow this to happen, he decided with finality as he stepped closer   
to the still kneeling children.  
  
He reached out to read their minds; the boy was aware that he himself was aware   
of what had happened.  
  
"You created such a disturbance in the Force that even a regular being could   
feel it," he said coldly, thoroughly displeased by the turn of events.  
  
"I'm sorry, Master, it's my fault," the boy apologized humbly. "I was too weak   
once again," he cringed slightly, probably remembering his last private meeting   
with him, he decided.  
  
"And you, Mara Jade?" he asked, ignoring the boy's attempt to apologize. "What   
do you have to say in your defense?"  
  
"I... I couldn't resist it, Master... My heart was unfortunately stronger than   
my head," she answered truthfully. "It overwhelmed me... and still do," she   
added reluctantly.  
  
The Emperor sneered slightly at this, then walked forward and clasped both of   
their heads with his spindly hands, then immersed himself in the two youths and   
their disgusting feelings for one another.   
  
As Vader had warned him, he conceded with finality, it was something that even   
them, with all their skills of coercion, couldn't contain. It was the Force,   
and nothing could resist the Force. That was why it was such a useful tool, he   
reminded himself before he pulled out of the youths and entered a meditation.  
The Force was his tool, so were the children at his feet; their bonding would be   
a tool too, he decided and searched for the way to make sure that they would,   
indeed remain his tool. His most powerful tools,... he finally smiled in greed   
as he saw what he had to do to use their love while controlling it.  
  
  
  
  
Luke cringed again when the Emperor touched his mind, aware that he would   
deserve whatever pain would come his way... again, he sighed in resignation.  
  
Instead of pain, though, their master reached out for his mind, then Mara's, he   
felt; as the older man searched his mind with his, Luke understood that he was   
pondering the future, choosing the best option that was available to him. He   
dimly hoped that it wouldn't be a punishment and a separation. Kissing Mara had   
been a mistake, he decided glumly; it only made him crave for her worse than   
before.  
  
When Mara threw him another surreptitious glance, he understood that she felt as   
he did: on the brink of kissing him/her again.  
  
For long minutes, the remained at their master's feet, like two obedient pets,   
while he scanned the future with his razor-edged foreseeing abilities. Then,   
all of a sudden, Luke felt as if he were being stretched toward Mara, and vice-  
versa.   
  
At first, he didn't understand what was happening until the slight pain   
disappeared and he became aware of his mental bond with his friend. He opened   
his eyes to gape wide-eyes at her; she gaped back a him.   
They were still two entities, yet...   
  
  
She could feel him as easily as she was feeling herself, Mara completed his   
thought, aware of what he was thinking.  
  
"When you will be ready," their master commented coldly as he stepped away from   
them, "you will complete your path together," he ordered them.  
  
The two youths snapped to attention. This was serious even if it was about   
their intimate lives.  
  
"What you are feeling is the bond that has drawn you together," he explained.   
"When you will take the final steps, it will change one last time, bonding your   
minds and souls forever. Even more than at the moment, you will share your   
strengths, your abilities, everything," he told them seriously.   
  
Mara could only gape at her friend in disbelief. He was letting them...  
  
"I do not want any changes in your efficiency," the Emperor continued warningly.   
"You 'may' be together when you are off-duty, but I am still your master," he   
reminded them coldly.   
  
Mara nodded in understanding; she searched her master's gaze. He glared right   
back at her, then at Luke.   
  
"Never forget to serve me before anybody else," he added dangerously. "Nor   
'how' to serve me," he finished with a warning glare at her friend.  
  
Luke visibly swallowed hard at this before he bowed his head in obedience.   
  
"I will be wary of my love, Master," he answered humbly. "I will be strong."  
  
"If you aren't, you both know the consequence now," their master commented   
coldly, chilling Mara to the bone at the implicit threat.  
  
If they both knew the consequence, then, she surmised their punishment would be   
to be separated forever.  
  
Luke and Mara bowed their heads.   
  
"I understand, Master," they said in unison, humbled and more than subservient.  
  
But they were allowed to love each other, Luke thought and she heard him.   
  
*I wonder what he meant by bonding our minds and souls,* she briefly sent him as   
the Emperor left them.   
  
They pondered this question all the way back to their training room... where   
they forced themselves to resume their normal activities.  
  
They hadn't finished their day yet, and they both agreed to not underestimate   
their master's threat.   
  
A single flaw and they 'knew' that they would be pulled apart, but neither of   
them wanted to take any risk with their love.  
  
Hence, they slowly nurtured it whenever they had some time to themselves, but it   
was a very rare occurrence in their very loaded schedules.  
  
  
******  
  
Now that they were allowed to be together, Luke and Mara took their time to   
develop their love relationship, sharing kisses and other romantic things, but   
they never dared complete their path together; they were both slightly worried   
about what would happen to their minds once they would do it.   
  
Their master had said that they would become one... Neither Luke nor Mara wanted   
to lose themselves, yet the were aware that doing so was an order from their   
master. Sooner or later, they would have to do it.  
  
Stillm Mara reflected as she listened to Lord Vader's plan, one thing was sure:   
her master and Lord Vader needed both Luke and herself to eradicate one of the   
last Jedi enclave.   
  
While she and Luke would be hidden from the rest of the task force, she   
understood, they would still work with them, merely on the other side of the   
hideout so as to corner their preys.  
  
  
  
While Vader was in a meeting to put the final touch to their common plan, Mara   
sat with her boyfriend and they watched the planet that would soon see some   
dangerous action... and her boyfriend's test as a future Dark Lord of the Sith.  
  
"Can't those Jedis pick nicer places to hide?" he asked her as she rested her   
hand on his shoulder.  
  
"I sure hope not, flyboy," she commented lightly while pulling her legs up on   
the couch, "Otherwise, it would leave 'us' with those dump grounds," she joked.  
  
Even as he smiled at her attempt to lighten his mood, he wrapped his arm around   
her shoulder; she leaned in the crook of his arm, enjoying a quiet moment with   
him. Even since they had been granted permission to be together, she had grown   
aware of how wonderful she felt when they were simply cuddling and talking. In   
fact, she had never expected his arms to feel this good around her.  
  
"Hmm, I guess so," he finally agreed, but his mood turned serious once again.   
"However, if they didn't, we wouldn't have to go running after them in this   
muck," he grunted in disgust, referring to what they had seen during their   
debriefing.   
  
She had to admit that she too had her fill of disgusting environments. There   
was just no limit to where the Jedis were trying to escape their destiny:   
garbage fields, sewers, rubbles, swamps...  
  
"Say, which environment is your favorite mission ground?" she asked him with   
genuine interest.  
  
"Watery worlds, or continental ones. You know, the green and blue planets?" he   
inquired.  
  
"Yes, I know," she nodded. "So... you like those nature things," she smirked   
teasingly, giving a second shot at taking his mind off his stress.  
  
"Well, yes," he hesitantly conceded, then blushed slightly: "I guess I haven't   
seen enough of those up to now. What about you?" he asked in returned interest.  
  
"Hmm, technological worlds. I love how easy it is to circumvent their gadgets,"   
she smiled smugly.  
  
"I should have known; you never like to play fair," he ribbed her slightly, a   
ghost of a smile slowly playing on his lips. "Looks like we won't have this   
chance this time," he then reminded her seriously.  
  
"I know," she sighed in resignation at his serious mood. He wanted to succeed   
in this mission; she knew that he wouldn't let anyone distract him from his   
difficult goal: to kill his first Jedi by himself. "You know, I once read that   
mud baths did wonders to one's skin," she still commented mock-seriously, if   
only to make him smile a little once again; it worked.  
  
Then, it was time to focus on their upcoming mission in which she was his back-  
up but had been told to not intervene unless truly necessary.  
  
  
  
The moment that the regular troopers entered the Jedi's awareness, the cowards   
fled away and ran straight into different teams, Luke and Mara's   
included.   
  
Luke easily jumped down from his tree branch and unsaddled the Jedi from his   
speeder bike, but he also mired both of them in the sticky, stinking goop.   
  
  
  
As they had been told, Luke reflected with a grunt of disgust as he stood back   
to his feet, the swamps's muck was sticky and extremely hampering. If only the   
troopers had been more discreet, he thought even as he tried to find a more   
stable position to face his opponent.  
  
Then he couldn't think anymore, only fight against his deadly enemy.  
  
The two Jedi Knights fought with their lightsabers, unable to move their feet,   
only able to rely on their arms and upper bodies to defend themselves.   
  
Luke held his ground well, parrying every attack and lunge, but his   
inability to move was slowly playing against him.   
  
When he tried to disarm his enemy with a wide sweep, he instead hit the mud due   
to his lack of balance; he stuck his hands and weapon in it the soft ground.  
Even as the youth became aware of his fatal mistake, the Jedi prepared his final   
strike.   
  
Luke desperately tried to roll away or jump out of the way as the weapon of   
light moved downward--- then just as he fought past his fear to focus his senses   
for a Force-shove, he noticed that the blade was not moving toward him anymore.   
  
Mara had come to the rescue, having hurled her lightsaber at the Jedi... who was   
now dead in the thick mud. He looked up in growing resent and anger; he had not   
been forfeited yet, he wanted to argue with her as she jumped from one tree to   
another to reach him while avoiding the trap of the sticky ground.   
  
By the time Mara was above him, Luke had finally managed to pull his hands and   
weapon free from the sticky goop and was trying to do the same thing with his   
feet.   
  
"You all right?" she asked him from her perch.  
  
"Yeah, but I wasn't done yet," he answered caustically as he stashed his weapon   
back in his belt.   
  
"Only half-done," she replied in kind, then uncoiled an emergency rope.   
  
Luke didn't answer to this, aware that he would tell her mean things if he   
spoke. He had never been angry at her, he dimly reminded himself; he wouldn't   
start today, he resolved.   
  
However, that didn't keep him from pouting in great displeasure; he had been   
about to kill the Jedi, for Force's sake. Sure he had lost his focus due to his   
emotions, but he had gotten back on track and would have fulfilled his destiny   
had she not been nearby...  
  
Meanwhile, Mara silently looped her rope around a branch, then lowered it to his   
level. Reluctantly, almost mechanically, Luke wrapped it around his forearm and   
wrist, then grabbed it.   
  
"Ready," he told her coolly.   
  
She finished to tie her other rope to a weakened tree.  
  
"On three: one, two, three!"  
  
They both toppled the targeted tree with their Force powers; Luke shot out of   
the imprisoning mud, but he reluctantly left his boots behind.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
The moment they were back aboard the Executor, Luke retreated to his shower,   
alone. He didn't want to speak with Mara yet; he knew that he was still too   
angry and would regret his words... but she had ruined his one chance to finally   
prove his true worth to their master, he thought in frustration as he shoved his   
suit in the incinerator trash bin, then hit the shower.   
  
While he focused on washing away the brown disgusting stuff that was still   
clinging to his skin, he tried to calm down. Okay, he attempted to rationalize,   
perhaps, just perhaps, he had truly failed his test against the Jedi. Perhaps,   
just perhaps, he wouldn't be ranting in frustration if Mara hadn't saved his   
life...  
  
If only he had fought in any other element but that goop!, he raved angrily, he   
would have won more than easily. What had those Jedi fools been thinking when   
they had selected such a paralyzing ground to establish their base?, he raged,   
finally finding a good recipient for his anger and letting it loose. He seethed   
for as long as he stood under the water until it began to be colder.  
  
When it did, he exited the shower, then quickly dried himself.   
  
His only consolation in all this, he reflected while he wrapped his towel around   
his hips, was that the mud had played against the Jedis as well as against   
himself. He now knew that he truly was apt on taking on fully trained Jedi   
traitors, or at least the very few of them who still remained after this latest   
mission, he conceded more calmly.  
  
He walked out of the 'fresher.  
  
Still, he began with a new burst of anger--- and stopped short in his tracks as   
his eyes fell on his girlfriend who was laying on his bed, wearing only her bra   
and her trousers.   
  
For a long moment, he could only gape at her, meeting her eyes, and feeling his   
anger dissipate as quickly as if it had never even inhabited his heart.  
  
It wasn't the first time that he was seeing her clothed like that, he admitted   
to himself, but he could feel that something special was about to happen this   
time. He felt it even more strongly when she sensually stood up from the   
mattress and walked closer to him.  
  
It pinned him where he stood. Why was her sight this overpowering this time?,   
he wondered as she walked closer, and closer, and even closer until they were   
practically standing nose to nose.  
  
"What... wh-wha-wwwhat are you doing?" he finally managed around his slack jaw.   
  
She took his hands in hers, pulling him even closer until she was pressing   
herself against the full length of his body. It left him completely speechless,   
and more than a little under 'her' powers.  
  
"Luke..." she told him gently, "stop beating yourself over the head," she   
scolded him. "You were good enough to survive this far; the Emperor had ordered   
me to not hesitate and save you if I felt your death as imminent," she explained   
gently. "Your day will soon come," she encouraged him. "Don't lose hope."  
  
He belatedly realized that she had felt his mental rummaging.  
  
"But---" he wanted to argue.  
  
She silenced him with a delicious kiss that monopolized his lips for the next   
two minutes. Meanwhile, her hands began to stray in his wet hair and all over   
his warm skin.  
  
*No buts, flyboy,* she finally sent him. *Celebrate our most important victory   
with me, please. We won against the last Jedi enclave,* she reminded him.  
  
Unable to remain angry at her for obeying their master, he finally understood   
the wisdom behind her words and saw their mutual victory as a team instead of   
his own, selfish would-be victory.  
  
He silently answered her by backing them back to the bed.  
  
  
  
  
Some time later, the two young lovers thought back to what had happened a few   
moments ago, when their minds had become one.  
  
"So that was what the master meant," Mara whispered in awe as she caressed his   
damp air. "It's... as if I'm you, but I'm still myself too, just... stronger,"   
she reflected seriously.  
  
"And more focused and wise," the youth answered in agreement. "He said that it   
was undoable, didn't he," he inquired softly, marveling at the unique feeling of   
feeling one in all senses of the word, with his wonderful best friend.   
  
She grabbed a hunk of his hair and delicately brought his head back to hers.   
  
"Even if it could, flyboy, I'm not letting you go," she smiled lustfully. "I   
never want to loose you."  
  
"You stole my words, my love," he smirked back before capturing her lips once   
more.   
  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
As Mara had told Luke, he had failed his test as far as his lordship was   
concerned, but he and Mara had done a very good job once again.   
  
Before leaving his father, Luke sought out his father to tell him about Mara and   
himself.  
  
He found his father in his library, silently gazing out at the patterns of   
hyperspace.  
  
"Was he pleased?" his father asked him without shifting his position to look at   
him.  
  
"Yes, and no," the youth sighed, plopping down on the couch beside his father.   
"I failed miserably to take my place in his higher ranks, but Mara's actions   
contented him about the mission."  
  
"She saved your life," his father commented coolly.  
  
For a moment, Luke glared hotly at his father--- then he sighed and slumped his   
shoulders. "Yes," he admitted, as he lowered his chin to his chest, "she did."  
  
His father's fingers appeared under his chin at that, gently making him look   
back at him. "What you did before she intervened was still more than we could   
have hoped for," his father reassured him seriously. "Even might not have   
survived a fight in such conditions," he admitted.  
  
That made Luke gape in surprise. "But you wouldn't have lost your focus to your   
fear," he argued, "and would have shoved the Jedi away much faster than I did---  
  
"And he would have thrown his weapon at me while I would have still been stuck,"   
his father finished wisely. "You survived Luke," he then reminded him.   
"Nothing else matters. Your time will come," he finished reassuringly.  
  
Luke couldn't help but smile slightly at that. "You speak like Mara," he teased   
his father, then remembered why he had wanted to talk with his father in the   
first place.  
  
  
  
  
Vader felt a difference in his son's senses even as his complexion darkened   
slightly.   
  
"Speaking about Mara," the youth began hesitantly, "I..."  
  
"You have finally joined with her as her soul mate," he provided for his   
struggling son.  
  
The face the boy made afterward would have pulled a smile from even their   
unemotional master.   
  
"You know about that?" he gaped at him.  
  
"The Emperor told me about your incident in the training room," he informed him   
while not mentioning that their permission was in part due to him. "I also felt   
the shift in your senses when your soul became one with hers."  
  
"And?" the youth prompted him, as if worried that he would not approve, he   
noticed.  
  
"I believe you're old enough to choose the right lover for yourself, Son," he   
commented gently, truly allowing his emotions to filter in his voice this time.   
"I know how happy you are with Mara, and how happy you make her in return," he   
then added earnestly. "You were meant to be together."  
  
"I... I think we were," the young Jedi nodded in slight bemusement, then smiled   
brightly. "I'm glad you approve, Father. It will reassure her about you."  
  
"Somehow," Vader commented off-handedly, "I have the feeling you would have   
persuaded her to feel welcome in the family," he smirked under his helmet.  
  
His son blushed a darker crimson at this, then cleared his throat and shifted   
uncomfortably on his chosen seat.  
  
"Well, what are you waiting for now? I believe you and her have a long flight   
to Coruscant," he ribbed him slightly.  
  
The youth nodded in answer, then stood up. "Yes, we do," he nodded. "Good bye,   
Father. May the Force be With You," he bid him farewell.  
  
"And with you, Son," he answered, then the youth headed for the doors... and his   
waiting lover.  
  
At last, he smiled to himself, his son was beginning to earn what he deserved.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Since the youth's skills continued to grow, their master gave them even more   
complex missions.  
  
They thus began to live their first space missions, ambushing their targets   
between the two of them and striking them senseless before boarding them.  
  
None of their victims ever got a chance against them; now even more than before,   
Luke and Mara were the most perfect team the galaxy had ever known, their minds   
being one while two.   
  
The Emperor jubilated, never regretting his decision to allow them to love each   
other. The ensuing results were even better than the preceding ones.  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
They were now eighteen, an age where normal young adults went out, had fun   
without their parents, and dreamed of what they would do with their lives.   
It was also the age of passions of all kinds.   
  
Luke and Mara didn't escape that rule; Mara became even more passionate by   
every kind of new fighting techniques that came out in the galaxy... While   
Luke's thing for the Princess of Alderaan resurfaced and became downright   
obsessive.  
  
This time, it irked Mara to the utmost, especially since he wouldn't tell her   
why he was so enthralled by the stranger, and that despite the Emperor's edict   
on Luke's bad habits. He could watch news from the young woman, but he knew   
better than to collect anything about her or entertain thoughts once the news   
were over.  
  
  
  
"If I knew why, Mara, I'd tell you," Luke assured his lover earnestly, feeling   
like he had repeated that scene at least a hundred times already.   
  
Mara, as always, fumed, planting her fists on her hips. Luke had no doubt that   
if she didn't like his answer, her fists' next destination would be his jaw.   
  
"Look, I think I have an hunch about her..." he began.  
  
"You think?" she inquired angrily.   
  
"I don't know, I'm not sure," he fumbled, "but what if it's about a mission   
concerning her?" he asked her even as his feeling began to define itself now   
that he had finally managed to voice it out loud. "If it is, I'll be glad to   
have all that stuff about her, don't you think?"  
  
"That would be one hell of a mission for you to prepare it for years in   
advance," his furious lover growled unhappily. "Just tell me one thing:" she   
then demanded warningly: "do you love her?" she asked, pointing at the image   
that was still running on one of their vid screens.  
  
"No." Luke answered truthfully, gazing in his lover's green, distraught eyes.   
"I don't want to be intimate with her, Mara, I just want to know her," he   
admitted.   
  
"Much like you wanted to know me," she reminded him sternly.   
  
Luke sighed, bravely took a step closer to her, took hold of her hands and   
rested them against his temples.   
  
"Look inside, Mara, and tell me if what I feel for her is the same than what I   
feel for you," he challenged her.   
  
  
  
  
That stunned the young woman; as per common agreement, they never invaded each   
other's mind anymore than they had to. To probe him would be---  
  
"Do it, Mara. See for yourself," he told her earnestly while she felt him undo   
all his barriers for her.   
  
Reaching a decision, she closed her eyes, quickly found her focus and touched   
his mind. She almost instantly saw his feelings for her and for the princess.   
  
He was right, she realized. It wasn't the same thing at all, even though the   
pull was almost as equally strong... it was just of a completely different   
nature.   
  
She withdrew from his mind, feeling ashamed of her jealousy.   
  
"I'm sorry, Luke," she told him, avoiding his eyes.   
  
Her lover brought his right hand to her chin, delicately raising her head to see   
her eyes.   
  
"It's okay, I understand... If you were to ogle another man, I'd   
be jealous too," he smiled slightly.  
  
She smirked at his attempt to lighten the mood. "Ogle another man, huh? Why   
that's not a bad idea at all, flyboy," She ribbed him in the arm before teasing   
him. "I think I'll start with that movie star, Tam ---"  
  
He shut her up with a kiss.  
  
*You're incorrigible,* he sent her playfully while shutting the sound of the   
still blathering vid screen.   
  
*And you're still unable to resist my baits,* she teased him back.  
  
He groaned in frustration before pulling her as close to himself as he could.   
  
*Shut up and kiss me, Jade,* he sent lustfully.  
  
She complied most eagerly.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
While Luke and Mara's both intimate and dutiful universes were going well, the   
rest of the galaxy slowly fell under another threat that became even more of a   
nuisance than the Jedi Knights had been. This time, it wasn't about people with   
special powers, only about a fight for a concept known as freedom.  
  
Lord Vader thus found himself roaming the galaxy all over again, this time   
hunting a very different kind of prey.  
  
  
The Rebel Alliance had just declared war on the Jedi killers.  
  
  
  
  
To be continued in part 11: The Mission  
  
  
  
Well, liked it?  
  
  
  
Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)   
(Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff will be sent to the garbage   
smasher without being read.) 


	11. part 11: The Mission

Part 11: The Mission  
By SJ 03-03-00/12-12-00  
________________  
  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving me some of your   
precious time, my friend :)  
  
  
__________________  
  
  
  
  
Slowly but surely, the situation in the galaxy became far worse than any of them   
had ever foreseen, forcing them all to focus on the renewed fight and the   
situation that was slowly escalating and even getting out of hand in some   
sectors.   
  
  
  
That cursed Rebellion was spreading like a plague from planet to planet, Luke   
thought in growing frustration. He knew that even his father wasn't able to   
stop it and that it was beginning to upset their master. If 'only' he could   
help him, he wished for the hundredth time since the rebs had appeared in the   
galaxy, and the thousandth time since he had begun his training as a Jedi. If   
not as a lord, then as a spy or an agent, but, he tempered himself, the   
Emperor's orders were strict: he and Mara had to focus on the outlaw elements   
and keep them from joining the rebels or helping them.  
  
It was, he conceded, some very indirect way of helping his father, but he wanted   
to do more, he admitted with a sigh. He wanted to fly in battles and kill the   
rebel pilots for him; he wanted to infiltrate the rebs, expose their weaknesses   
and savor the sight of his once again victorious father. He knew, deep down,   
that he and Mara would do a more than excellent job in this matter. However,   
the Emperor kept pulling them in other missions and had explicitly warned them   
to not entertain thoughts about the rebels; their gift, as he had commented   
coldly, didn't lie in long-term infiltrations,... But how he himself wished it   
were so, Luke thought forlornly.  
  
However, he knew better than to try the Emperor's patience: it was his duty to   
be satisfied of what he was allowed to do for his Emperor, and as a result his   
father.  
  
Still, the youth reflected---- and started as the door of his room slid open.   
His father was back from his late meeting with the Emperor. He tried to hide   
the fact that he had been so distracted by his yearnings that he had failed to   
feel his return; his father for his part didn't even seem to notice.  
  
Instead, he uncharacteristically sat down heavily on his bunk, allowing him to   
see just how exhausted he truly was by the continuous fighting. He then saw him   
shift his gaze toward his chosen seat, then he felt his short wave of annoyance   
at his still restricted quarters before he gazed up at him.   
  
"You weren't successful," the youth finally commented sadly, drawing his father   
out of his silent contemplation.  
  
His father sighed tiredly. "As impossible as it might sound, Son, they're even   
harder to stop than the Jedi renegades were," the older man admitted seriously.  
  
That stumped Luke.  
  
"What? But how can it be?" he asked in disbelief.  
  
The Jedi renegades had been hard to stop, yes, he conceded; the last of their   
number had died less than ten months ago, yet they hadn't escaped his father, he   
reminded himself seriously. How could a bunch of riff-raffs possibly escape him   
and the Fleet?, he wondered even as he locked his gaze with his father, silently   
demanding more information.  
  
"They are protected by the population," Vader explained matter-of-factly. "The   
Jedi remnants weren't that popular," he then sneered in disgust, "but those   
Freedom fighters... They have the complete, unquestioned approval of the larger,   
regular population."   
  
"Has the Fleet lost its deterrent effect?" the young Jedi inquired in confusion.  
  
"No," his father shook his head, "and that is why we're building..." he began,   
then fell silent as if changing his mind. "Anyway," he recovered, "the populace   
still fear retribution, but they hide the rebels all the same and also provide   
them with what they need," he sighed again, this time in frustration.   
  
"You definitely need someone inside," Luke stated, himself feeling more than   
ready to take on that challenge.  
  
"I already tried that, Luke," his father shook his head in uncommon defeat.   
"Even my best agents were unable to make it close enough to even the main   
groups, let alone the command people so as to be really useful to us. "They   
were also always uncovered, sooner or later," his father finished, obviously at   
a loss for ideas.  
  
"Then what?" Luke inquired, feeling somewhat dumbfounded by all the sudden bad   
surprises.  
  
How could mere mortals defy 'and' defeat his powerful, invincible father and   
their equally cunning master? It was... ludicrous, he thought with a sneer of   
derision.  
  
This had to be a bad dream, he then decided even as he shook his head in   
annoyance. It couldn't be real, not after all the successes that his father had   
gleaned ever since he had met him.  
  
"The Emperor is setting in motion a plan that should scare the galaxy into   
submission," his father answered him seriously. "Meanwhile, I'll continue dto   
hunt for the bases. Used together, those two tactics will work," he stated with   
encouraging, returning confidence.  
  
"It will, Father," he nodded in agreement... although, he conceded, he had the   
feeling that whatever the Emperor was planning still wouldn't be enough.   
Somehow, it would fail... "I wish I could help you," he finally reminded his   
father less coolly.  
  
Vader stood up and set his heavy hand on his son's strong shoulder. "I know,   
I've always known, but we are both aware of the master's orders," he reminded   
him with just the barest hint of a scold.  
  
Luke sighed and nodded in acceptance, once again, he thought forlornly. Even   
though his master's wisdom was unequaled and proofed to anything, as   
demonstrated with the chance he had taken with himself and his best friend, Luke   
still thought that he could reconsider his latest successes and allow him to at   
least become, with Mara, one of his father's agents. He was sure that he and his   
friend would do a marvelous job on the field.  
  
As if reading his thoughts, his father nodded silently, then left him,   
undoubtedly returning to his planning room.  
  
He himself had to go to bed, he reminded himself as he discarded the data pad he   
hadn't really read since he had picked up. As per common agreement, he and Mara   
didn't sleep together while preparing a new mission, only once it was complete   
and that they were victorious. They also didn't contact each other once they   
were back in their respective quarters, but, Luke conceded as he prepared for   
bed, he somehow felt a desire to do so tonight.  
  
He needed her cool focus to clear away his improper, misbehaved thoughts.  
  
Again.  
  
  
  
******   
  
  
That night, a dream came to the eldest Vader. While he had been talking with   
his son and his yearnings for helping him, his subconscious had made up a more   
than workable plan for him and was now ready to expose it to him.  
  
In his sleep, Darth Vader smirked meanly as the dream left his subconscious to   
settle in his active, more workable mind.  
  
  
  
The next morning, it was still there, and had even improved itself over the   
night. He hurriedly dressed and went to the Emperor.   
  
As usual, the ruler made him wait for his convenience, but unlike usually, he   
didn't wait for hours on end.  
  
Forty minutes after his arrival at the Imperial Palace, he was given access to   
his master's throne room. Unlike the previous day when he had approached his   
master with the bitter taste of failure in his mouth, he was now holding himself   
proudly, the delicious song of would-be victory inhabiting his mind, soul, and   
whole body.  
  
"I sense that the night was helpful to you, Lord Vader," the Emperor's brittle   
voice commented from behind the turned away throne.  
  
"It was, my Master," the black-clad giant answered even as he knelt on one knee   
at his master's feet.  
  
"Then entertain me," he commented in disinterest even as he motioned him back to   
his feet without turning around to see him.  
  
However, as Vader exposed his thoughts, he did swivel his position until he was   
facing him, obviously aware that this was something doable and more than   
profitable to them.  
  
  
  
Ten minutes later, silence hung in the vast, blackened room as the Emperor   
considered Vader's idea.  
  
"This is very interesting, Lord Vader," he finally nodded encouragingly from his   
throne, "except for one detail," he then pointed out, raising one spindly finger   
in mean reproach. "Who could be the spy?" he pointed out coldly.   
"The way you spoke, he would have to be Force-empowered. None of my spies   
actually correspond to this profile," he commented coolly.  
  
Vader began to talk, but was interrupted by his master.  
  
"Or more precisely," he reminded him, this time warningly, "none of them are   
ready for this kind of mission."   
  
Vader sighed in resignation, then answered: "My son was the spy in my vision,   
Master." he admitted, bowing in apologies for bringing that subject up yet   
again.  
  
"Your son?" the Emperor inquired mildly dangerously.   
  
"Yes," the dark lord nodded, keeping his head bowed. "He masters the Force and   
his other skills for such an operation," he began seriously, "he wants to help,   
and he deserves a second chance to prove his true worth, Master," he finished   
humbly.  
  
Even though he wasn't gazing in the smaller man's eyes, Vader felt his piercing   
glare just as much as if he had been meeting it straight on.  
  
"He may be adequately trained for a short infiltration mission, Lord Vader," the   
ruler began coldly, "but he isn't for something as long as this potential   
mission, nor has he been deemed with the skills," he added with finality,   
pointedly avoiding the mention of a second test.  
  
"Master," Vader began, bravely looking up at his ruler---  
  
"He'll betray himself," the Emperor repeated angrily, obviously extremely   
displeased to have to do so. "He isn't trained for this; he is out of   
question," he spat vehemently. "As for the other spies, none of the remaining   
ones are trained for this kind of mission." His voice became less angry. "It   
is an impossible idea, Lord Vader." He then added meanly: "You don't want to   
see your son fail a second and last test, do you, my friend?"  
  
"Unless we give Luke the training he needs," the dark lord reflexively   
suggested--- then realized what he had done and waited for the explosion to   
come.  
  
  
  
At this very moment, the Emperor seriously pondered whether keeping the boy   
alive was truly serving him better than if he removed him from his world.   
Vader's uncharacteristic misbehavior was beginning to unnerve him; no one but   
the boy made his right arm react this way.  
  
However, he conceded as he calmed down slightly, he now had the best   
spying/assassin team in the history of the galaxy at his service. Also the boy,   
still held too much potential by himself to just destroy him. No, he decided   
more coolly, taking the boy away wouldn't be the best option available to him at   
the moment.  
  
However, he thought in renewed frustration, he didn't want to give any chance to   
the youth from ever proving to him that he could be a true Dark Lord of the Sith   
like his father was, and as thus, come out of the shadows and claim his true   
identity. If this ever happened, he himself knew that he would have to put an   
end to the boy's work with Jade... and while having a third in command out there   
to help Vader 'would' be useful, he still preferred to keep him in the shadows,   
a slave, except with his father and Mara Jade.  
  
This was where he was most profitable to him, he reasoned angrily. In the   
shadows, he could be young-looking, he could be with his also secret friend and   
not bother anything in his plans, but as a Dark Lord of the Sith... then Jade   
would also come out of the shadows, as a concubine, he conceded, but she would   
still attract more attention than she currently did, and as thus, giving her   
missions would become more complex. On the other hand, he reluctantly admitted   
that the boy was a clever tactician, perhaps even more so than his father, and   
as long as he would keep him in the shadows, he wouldn't exploit this skill to   
his complete advantage. If the boy became a Dark Lord, he would, and given the   
times of turmoil in his Empire, he knew better than to dismiss such an asset.  
  
Of course, he considered slyly, he could always make the boy work for him on the   
rebel problems, but that, he suggested, would be like taunting him just slightly   
too much and might force him to take actions he didn't 'really' want to take.   
No, he decided, he couldn't use the boy's tactician skills without acknowledging   
him in his 'public' ranks. However, he promised himself cunningly, he would not   
let his arm be twisted this way by fate; he would still control his servants'   
destinies and mold them the way they served him best.  
  
But for the moment, he first had to make Vader 'convince' him about his son's   
involvement.  
  
He began to tap his nails on his steel armrest, as if in great annoyance.   
"Explain yourself," he finally grated coldly, asking him to tell him what he had   
in mind with his son's new training.  
  
"We can take a few months to prepare him and his background, Master," Vader   
explained simply. "You said that he was most proficient at living a double life   
for a short while. Why should it be different for a long while if he were given   
the proper techniques?"  
  
"Continue," the monarch barely nodded although he privately enjoyed to make his   
second-in-command squirm in growing worry.   
  
That would teach him to care this much about the boy, he thought meanly--- then   
mentally fell silent as Vader mentioned who would be used to help his son's   
infiltration.  
  
"Kenobi and the young rebel senator?" the Emperor sneered in disbelief.   
  
"Luke will know how to approach her and fool her; he's been studying   
her for years," he needlessly reminded him.  
  
He himself had certainly taken enough actions against the boy's care for the   
girl to suspect that he would be excellent around her.  
  
"And Kenobi?" the despot inquired warily. "Why should he be involved in this?"  
  
"My former master was closely linked to the house of Organa," the dark lord   
began seriously, "and he is still most actively searching for my son," he added   
with what felt as a mean smirk to the Emperor's senses.  
  
He smirked inwardly at that; there was his servant as he knew him. No emotion,   
no remorse, only cool attitudes and cold humor.  
  
"Luke has lived for six years on Tatooine, Master," his servant diligently   
reminded him. "He already knows the customs. We can easily set up his   
background story there, then I can arrange for the princess to show up there. If   
we plan this correctly," his servant continued more coolly now, "the only thing   
Luke will have to do is fool those two and lead us toward the different bases."  
  
"Hmm," the Emperor mused, "an interesting plan once again, my friend," he   
commented coolly, "Yet there is still one detail missing," he meanly commented.   
"What about the princess's memory of your son as your slave?" the evil ruler   
pointed out.   
  
"She won't remember him," Vader assured him coldly this time, truly pleasing him   
in the process. "I will 'set' her up throughout a few strategic meetings," the   
dark lord smoothly answered, as if he had already fleshed out his whole plan, he   
noticed.  
  
The Emperor drummed his nails against his throne once again, pretending to be   
displeased by his ideas while he had in fact, already made his disgusting   
decision.  
  
"I suggest you plan very carefully, Vader," he finally warned him. "One wrong   
step and I will loose my best intelligence element, or your son will become my   
slave forever," he commented coldly.  
  
"I will not fail you, Master, nor will Luke," the other bowed his head in   
respect.   
  
"Very well, your son has earned a last chance to prove to me that he is ready to   
claim his true name," he waved him away. "Send him to the training center. As   
of today, he begins a new curriculum: how to be a perfect rebel," he finished   
sarcastically.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
When Luke heard the news, he was elated, yet instantly understood that this was   
his very last chance to impress his master with a perfect mission and flawless   
results. He would not be directing troops, he reminded himself, but he would   
have to subtly direct the events to what he wanted them to be to reach his   
goals.  
  
If he could do this, he thought seriously, then the Emperor would know that he   
could command soldiers as well.  
  
The only shadow on his content mood, he then conceded was that this mission   
meant many months without his lover, but, he reminded himself grimly, it was the   
price to pay to prove his true worth.  
  
And with that thought, he crossed once again one of the secret entrances of the   
Emperor's unknown training center.  
  
  
  
The first step of his new curriculum was to find himself a cover he would be   
able to maintain no matter what happened. As it had always been, even though   
the ensuing exercises were only tries, he was punished every time the training   
computer broke through his disguise.  
  
Hence, the smuggler, the pilot, and the street thug earned him pain... but the   
almost disgusting cover of simple farmboy on Tatooine seemed to stick to him   
like a second skin.  
  
At first, it upset him that he would have to maintain that front for Force-knew-  
how-long, and it upset him even more when he began his secondary lessons about   
personality traits and discovered that he was best suited for a naive act, but   
the more he practiced against the computer that was programmed to ask him   
questions to make him reveal his true self, and the more he understood why he   
was so proficient in such a role.  
  
It wasn't who he was at all; if he slipped in the skin of 'Skywalker', he   
consciously stopped being Luke Vader, top agent of the Emperor and dark Jedi.  
  
Once those first steps were complete, the real training began: how to do   
everything he would have to do without being uncovered.  
  
Like he had done the first time that he had trained, he was a dedicated student,   
learning everything that he had to master his cover skills.  
  
He studied how to take on a second identity without any signs that it was an   
act, learnt the slang language that was typical to Tatooine, and mastered how to   
act and think naively since it was his best disguise no matter what the   
situation was.   
  
The more time passed, and the more he reluctantly understood that his two years   
of slavery, then his ensuing years of service to his master, had prepared him   
for the basics, but not the specifics. However, his current training taught him   
that, and more.   
  
Once he had completed the technical part through timed exercises/practice with   
sophisticated computers and even unaware training companions, he began the   
practical part and spend all his days and nights pretending to be someone else   
while fulfilling the specifics of a mission. When he wasn't doing so, he was   
undergoing what they called an environmental training, in his case, to Tatooine   
suffocating heat.   
  
At first, he was always uncovered after a few hours, but as the days passed, his   
acting improved and so did his score.   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Near the end of Luke's training, Vader and Mara began to plan the whole   
operation, or at least as far as to get the princess hooked with Luke. They   
were both aware that the two Vaders would play with real sentient beings who   
would be wary from the start; they had to prepare better than they had ever done   
before.   
  
At first, they had trouble finding even a basic idea as to how to involve the   
princess by setting a trap, but after a few days of pointless rummaging, ideas   
finally began to come to Vader.  
  
"We have to use the Death Star," he commented in the silence, drawing the   
attention of his young companion.  
  
"The Death Star?" Jade frowned, "is it wise, my Lord?" she asked him seriously.  
  
Unlike him, both she and Luke had been informed of the planet killer only weeks   
ago, now that it was almost complete. The Emperor had explained his actions by   
saying that the youths hadn't needed the information to serve him well.  
  
"The Rebels probably know already about it," the dark lord pointed out even as   
he called summary data about the top secret project. "They'll be looking for   
its plans," he explained seriously while the plans appeared above the middle of   
the technical table.  
  
"And you mean to give it to them?" the red-head gaped at him in disbelief. "I   
mean," she then caught herself, "I'm not sure the Emperor will approve, my   
Lord," she answered more humbly.  
  
Vader couldn't help but chuckle at the spontaneous outburst of the girl; ever   
since she had bonded with his son, he had noticed some of his son's traits in   
her, his spontaneity with him being one of those.  
  
"He will if we give them faulty plans," he nodded, already entering a flaw in   
the plan.  
  
On the holo, a red dot appeared near the equator line, then grew bigger and more   
detailed as Vader shifted the plans until they could see the outline of what he   
had just programmed.  
  
"A target to destroy it," the young woman nodded even as she smirked in   
understanding. "Brilliant."  
  
"Thank you," the older Jedi answered coolly. "And now, about the princess."  
  
"Oh, that is simple," the red-head answered easily. "I can start rumors in the   
court and the Senate that a secret project is under construction. From there,   
it won't be difficult for me to plant the plans where rebels can get them, but   
not too easily," she smirked meanly.   
  
"And I can arrange for them to find their location," Vader continued in kind.   
"Meanwhile, I can also arrange a few meetings with the young senator to give her   
a compulsion to go after the plans," Vader thought out loud, "then that she has   
to go to Tatooine to retrieve the Jedi."  
  
"I believe this would work, Lord Vader," Mara smiled seriously at him.  
  
Vader returned her smile with a nod, then he set to work with his daughter-in-  
law to set up Luke's arrival point on Tatooine. Once everything was planned,   
they obtained the Emperor's agreement to proceed with the finagling details of   
the upcoming mission of their beloved family member.  
  
However, they couldn't plan beyond the point when it would be completely up to   
the young dark Jedi... and his unknown companions.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Three months after the beginning of Luke's training, they were ready to set   
their plan in motion.  
  
Two days ago, Luke had undergone his last surgical operation to remove all   
his slave marks from his body save for his Sith tattoo which would give him a   
tough look if he ever had to be bare chest during his mission.  
  
Completely recovered from his operations, he was back at the training center to   
complete final preparations on his cover while his girlfriend and father were   
reviewing his set up.   
  
While she wasn't officially involved in the operation, Mara had been glad that   
Vader had asked for her help when he had begun to work on their joined mission.   
Now that her part with the planting was done, it was up to her father-in-law and   
her boyfriend, but, she reflected wistfully, she now knew what was awaiting him,   
and which challenge he would face even if they had planned right.  
  
At least, she amended, she would worry about those when she herself wouldn't be   
in missions. Their master had already told her that he would need her the   
moment Luke would be gone.  
  
She dimly wished that she could have gotten involved, either secretly or not,   
with Luke, but given his necessity to find discreet transport to the Death Star,   
she knew better than to entertain such hopes... didn't she?, she asked herself   
wistfully.  
  
"Is something the matter, Mara?" the dark lord in front of her inquired   
solicitously.  
  
"This will be the first time that Luke and I will be apart in ten years," she   
commented sadly.   
  
"He will be all right," the adult reassured her. "However, I am worried about   
you being alone for your missions," her father-in-law informed her gently.   
  
"I'll manage, don't worry, Lord Vader," she reassured him, forcing her trademark   
self-confidence to resurface from under her glum. However, she conceded that   
she didn't feel so confident herself. "Will you keep me informed on his   
whereabouts?" she asked him in an almost uncharacteristic display of gentleness.   
  
She was really going to miss her boyfriend, she realized.  
  
"Of course." the dark lord nodded. "Are you planning to see him before his   
departure?" he then asked her.   
  
The red-head blushed slightly. "Yes. We were planning to spend the night   
Together," she admitted, aware that it went against her regular rules. She   
didn't want to distract her boyfriend... but she did want to be with him, she   
admitted honestly with herself.  
  
"Then go, child," Vader waved her away, surprising her with his answer; she had   
expected a rebuke. "Don't miss any minute that you can get with him," he   
commented wisely.   
  
Definitely surprised by the dark lord's attitude, she froze for a few seconds,   
unable to answer anything, then she merely nodded and left him to meet her   
boyfriend at their secret quarters.  
  
  
  
Vader watched the young woman leave, a slight, very slight smile playing on his   
hidden lips.   
  
Every day that the Emperor allowed those two to be together, he thought   
wistfully, it was as if Life was making it up to him in a way, through his son.  
  
He was truly glad that his son and her lover were wise enough to listen to their   
hearts instead of their powers when it came to each other; Force knew that he   
hadn't been wise enough to listen to it, eighteen years ago...  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Before his departure, young Vader and his father reported to the Emperor.   
However, unlike all their previous reports, he went over to Vader's Castle to   
avoid any kind of suspicion concerning the boy.   
  
However, no less decorum was expected from his two servants. Hence, young Luke   
Vader was already kneeling respectfully in the middle of the reception room when   
he himself arrived. Despite his drab, farming clothes and lack of obvious   
weapons, the Emperor could still see the assassin and dark Jedi he had so   
painstakingly groomed into a near-perfect tool. Once on Tatooine though, he   
knew that the aura of danger would disappear from the boy, and would be so until   
he returned victorious.  
  
As he walked closer to the silent youth, he reconsidered the reports he had   
received about the boy's training. It had upset him to the utmost that the only   
cover the boy had been able to develop as second-nature had been that of a   
naive, good-hearted boy. After all the years spent trying to crush that from   
the boy, all the punishments he had inflicted to him... it was now the tool he   
needed to destroy the so-called Rebellion.  
  
That evening, he had spent his fury on a few, unfortunate souls. Hence, he   
could now face the youth without risking any backlash on him... for the moment.  
  
"You know what is at stake, young Vader," he reminded him without preamble.  
  
"I do, Master. I will not fail you, either as an agent or a dark Jedi," he   
assured him with deference.   
  
"This is your ultimate test, young Vader," he confirmed for the first time with   
the boy. Nearby, his father stood silently, a cool yet strong presence. "If   
you succeed, you shall become my new Dark Lord," he reminded both Vaders, "but   
if you fail," he warned the child darkly, "you will become my slave, with the   
consequences that go with it."   
  
Young Vader nodded seriously. "I will succeed, Master," he repeated.  
  
"Then go, and be ready to recover the plans," he ordered him coldly.  
  
He still wasn't exactly pleased with involving the plans of his latest project   
in this very peculiar mission, but he had had to relent and give a free hand to   
Vader in this matter.  
  
They didn't have any choice to not foul their own plan of destruction.  
  
In front of him, the boy stood, bowed one last time, then left by a side door.  
In a few hours, he knew that Jade would drop him near a space port where he   
would buy a ticket for Tatooine.   
  
Once there, he would begin to set up his back story.   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
Five days later, on a moisture farm on Tatooine, Luke Vader shifted   
uncomfortably in his rough clothes. He reflected that if not for his   
environmental training, the unrelenting heat of the day would be his death.   
While he had ranted after each session, he was now grateful for them; they had   
taught him how to bear up again with extreme heat.   
  
He flew his rented speeder toward the farm that was openly looking for a farm   
boy to help them with the harvest. For his master and himself, he'd be that   
farm boy again, he sighed in resent and frustration, openly directed at the   
cursed Jedi Kenobi; the feelings never made it past his Force-shields though.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, out in space, Vader set his plan in motion. Now that Mara's rumor   
had been spread, he had made it known that the 'plans' of the Death Star were   
being transported through a backwater planetary system. He also made sure that   
the information really looked like a leak, not a plant. Once these   
technicalities were taken care of, he met with the princess during one of her   
'supposedly' mercy mission and planted a compulsion in her to make her go after   
the plans.  
  
It worked to perfection.  
  
  
  
  
While he watched his plan unfold as he had foreseen, he thought about how it had   
come to be so perfect as well as what was to come.  
Now that the princess had retrieved the plans, he knew that she would 'want' to   
call on Kenobi's help after retrieving the plans, hence head for Tatooine.  
  
Naturally, ever since the beginning of the operation, he'd monitored the old   
Jedi through the Force to make sure that he wasn't going away while restraining   
himself from killing him for causing his son the torments that he had been   
through.   
  
Even now though, he sternly reminded himself, he couldn't kill him. The Emperor   
had sternly warned him to not kill the Jedi without his explicit consent. Vader   
really didn't know why the Emperor wanted to keep that old wizard alive, perhaps   
as a last trophy, he reflected with some grim amusement, although, he amended,   
if it were the case, the Jedi would be displayed in the Emperor's museum, not on   
a dreary planet...   
  
For the past years, both he and Luke had constantly restrained themselves from   
making a detour by Tatooine to exact revenge, aware that their master's ire   
wouldn't be forgiving if they disobeyed him, even to give in to their hatred of   
the Jedi survivor. The old Jedi was senile and far from dangerous anyway, but   
his being alive still disgusted them both.   
  
At least, he then thought seriously, he was proving himself to be useful to   
them; perhaps that was what the Emperor had foreseen, he conceded. The other   
sure was better alive than dead... for the moment.  
  
An orderly came up behind him; Vader sensed that he had new information to   
deliver to him. He refocused on the present and turned toward the frightened   
man.  
  
Everything was proceeding smoothly, he surmised from his report. Now, all they   
had to do was wait for the princess' betrayal to lead her to his son.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
TBC in part 12: Rendezvous 


	12. part 12: Rendezvous

Part 12: Rendezvous  
By SJ 03-03-00/12-12-00 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
________________  
  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
  
Naturally, everything coming straight from the movie, words or situations,   
belong even more than the rest to George Lucas. It is still only for fun,   
nothing else.  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving me some of your   
precious time, my friend :)  
  
  
__________________  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
While in deep space Darth Vader relentlessly hounded the fleeing corvette of   
Princess Leia, on Tatooine, Luke cursed vehemently against a recalcitrant   
vaporator that he had to take care of.   
  
While he continued to strain against a completely finished nut, he mentally   
cursed that the old farmer, like all the so-called 'farmers', was a crazy man   
and a fool for hoping to get anything out of this machine and environment. The   
desert simply was far from ideal to harvest anything, but then, the young dark   
Jedi reminded himself while fighting his urge to hit the vaporator with his tool   
and see if it worked better that way, even his 'uncle' had never understood   
that.   
  
What was it with those moisture farmers?, he wondered in growing frustration as   
he threw his tool in his nearby metal box. Were they insanely stubborn to not   
understand that they were fighting against impossible odds?  
  
He finally calmed down and picked up a new tool. If he didn't want to blow his   
cover, he reminded himself, he had to keep this job. However, he conceded   
sourly, keeping his mouth shut about what he knew about the planet's impossible   
harvest was difficult. Given his intensive training about all the planets of   
his master's universe, he 'knew' that no matter how many vaporators one farmer   
could keep in working order, they would never turn this desert into a fertile   
ground. However, he also knew, from his past life on the dustball, that no   
farmer was ready to face the truth and move on another planet.   
  
Hence, he remained silent and did as he was told by his boss. As he did so, he   
also forced himself to obey another, completely different order: to not go after   
Kenobi to exact revenge for what he had done to his father and himself. Every   
day, he had to struggle against himself to not give in this urge, but once   
again, he obeyed his order although it came from a very different authority.   
  
Today was no different from the other days, he sighed in rising frustration. If   
only---  
  
*Luke,* his father's voice suddenly entered his mind.  
  
He froze and raised his head toward the patch of sky where his father was; he   
immediately spotted the ongoing space battle.   
  
*I'm here and ready, Father,* he answered instantly. *How are things   
proceeding?*  
  
*As we have foreseen,* was his father's answer. *We're currently drawing her   
aboard the ship; she herself is planning to jettison the plans through an   
astromech droid,* he added with a note of grim confidence.  
  
*Clever idea, Father, but not too clever that she will doubt her ability to   
think about this by herself,* the youth smirked meaningfully.  
  
*Exactly,* the dark lord mentally nodded. *She has already used droids as an   
alibi for being in Toprawa, it was simple to nudge her in that direction,* he   
commented coolly. *I'll contact you again when I'll know which droid you have   
to retrieve.*  
  
*I'll be here, Father,* the youth replied coolly. *Be careful with her, she's   
sharp.*  
  
*I know,* his father answered grimly, then was gone to focus on the ongoing   
boarding parties.  
  
Luke for his part refocused on his tedious work.   
  
So the Princess would soon fall in his father's hands to await for 'his' rescue,   
but before meeting up with her aboard the Death Star, he first had to recover   
the plans, and naturally, he then had to find a transport off-planet.  
  
It would be an interesting few days, he smirked grimly to himself.  
  
  
  
Aboard the Rebel frigate, Vader patiently waited for troopers to bring their   
most important prisoner to him.   
  
According to their early report, the girl had managed to kill one trooper before   
they had stunned her, then had put up a brief fight when she had woken up.   
While she had been unconscious, he himself had taken advantage of her lack of   
awareness to gather the information regarding her actions just before the   
troopers had caught her.  
  
Before he could transmit them to his son however, the young senator appeared at   
the end of the corridor, surrounded by her wary escort.  
  
"Darth Vader," she spat at him venomously.  
  
While she went about a tirade about how the Senate would not sit still for this,   
he himself indulged himself in a study of this new side of her. It wasn't the   
first time that he met with her, he conceded, but it was the first time that he   
could see the fire that he had always felt as smoldering under the refine veneer   
of Alderaan's aristocracy. He chuckled mentally at the thought that it was   
downright betraying her up-to-now secret associations with the rebels.   
  
He had always suspected her from being a rebel, had then found proofs of her   
being so during the preparation of this plan, and finally, he had seen it in her   
mind when he had planted impulses there , but, he conceded, he hadn't 'really'   
believed those until now. However, he couldn't have a doubt anymore, he thought   
grimly as he glared in her defiant eyes.  
  
While he mechanically answered her, he dimly reflected that she somehow reminded   
him of another senator he had once seen as facing down a whole army to save her   
planet, but he dismissed the thought as being inopportune and less than   
pertinent. He was just getting distracted.  
  
"Take her away!" he ordered the troops at that, then walked down the corridor.  
  
Beside him, his first officer commented that it was unwise to hold her because   
of the Senate.   
  
Vader discarded that comment with the back of his hand, perfectly aware that the   
Senate had been permanently dissolved by now, something which the Emperor had   
kept secret from everyone except himself.  
  
His master had decided that the first day of his son's mission would be as good   
a day as any to get rid of this last nuisance in their system. Naturally, Vader   
reflected, it also allowed him to keep the girl in one place without anyone   
requesting her freedom with demonstrations and public protestations.  
  
And now, he thought seriously, it was up to his son to catch up with them, but   
not without a last nugget of help from him.  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Luke had finished his dinner and was back outside, fine-tuning his newly-bought   
but fourth-hand speeder. Even though he was aware that he would sell it to pay   
his transport off planet, he didn't have anything else to do, and tinkering once   
again allowed him to remain focused on his mission... He was grateful for this   
tool to take his mind off the elements that had constantly been pulling at his   
mind ever since he had landed.  
  
Somehow, his being back 'home' affected him more than he had first surmised. He   
couldn't help but see flashes of his young years with Owen and Beru Lars, who   
were on the other side of the Dune Sea. He also kept remembering his   
misadventure in the sand dunes... his ensuing slavery---  
  
No, he angrily wrenched his thoughts from this topic he had thought long buried   
inside him. He wouldn't venture in this emotional territory, he scolded   
himself, he had a mission to accomplish, and he had to succeed if he didn't want   
to become a slave again, this time because of a 'true' ineptitude.   
  
He closed his eyes at that, forced himself to regain his focus on what he had to   
do, then opened them again. Beyond the furthest dunes, the twin suns were   
slowly sliding under the horizon, taking away their oppressing heat to begin   
distributing it to the other side of the planet. Luke's eyes locked on the   
beautiful sight of oranges, yellows and pinks, and sighed as he pulled away from   
the already running engine.   
  
No matter how much he tried to deny it, he admitted to himself as he seated   
himself on the back of the speeder, he 'was' worried about the outcome of his   
mission. For the past three months, he, his father, his lover, and even the   
Emperor had been setting things up and preparing themselves for what he would,   
in the end, face alone. Throughout those months, he had never, ever allowed   
himself to falter, doubt himself, or even worry about the outcome of the mission   
if he were to fail, but now that he was here, all alone and with the events in   
motion... he was just on this side of being overwhelmed by the size of what he   
had undertaken.  
  
Strangely, he admitted as he continued to gaze at the setting suns, he felt as   
if he were a child once again, but no, he shook his head to change his mind from   
those defeatist thoughts, he wasn't a child anymore. He had returned here a   
seasoned warrior and agent, with all the tools and abilities that he needed at   
his disposal to be successful while alone. He wouldn't let his childhood   
thoughts and his resulting hatred pull him away from what had to be foremost in   
his mind: how to recover the Princess' droid.  
  
The rest, he sighed as he savored his last evening of relative peace before the   
mission truly began, was inconsequential or in the future.  
  
*Very well thought,* his father's voice commented coolly in his mind.  
  
*You heard all that?* the youth inquired in slight uneasiness and complete   
surprise.  
  
  
  
  
*Not everything,* Darth Vader reassured his worried son while he gazed down at   
the slowly darkening side of Tatooine. *Only what was important.*  
  
*I won't fail, Father,* his son answered confidently. *I guess I'm just getting   
antsy with anticipation,* the youth then joked slightly.  
  
*Then be ready for action,* he informed him seriously.   
  
Despite the distance that was separating them, he felt his son recover a much   
more serious set of mind even as he straightened his physical stance.   
  
*We have just bribed a band of Jawas to hunt down the droids in the desert   
wastes, then take them to your location,* he explained. *They should be at the   
farm tomorrow afternoon at the latest.*  
  
*I'll be ready,* the youth mentally nodded in answer. *I'll convince my boss to   
buy the droid.*  
  
*Actually, there are two of them, Son,* the dark lord amended his previous   
communication. *You have to retrieve both a blue and white, silver-domed   
astromech and a golden-plated protocol droid. Both must return in our grasp   
once this is over.*  
  
For a moment, he felt his son consider this new information, then how he would   
convince the not exactly rich farmer to buy two droids, but his pondering was   
short.   
  
*It will be done,* Luke finally answered even as he sent to him how he would   
proceed to convince the other man: with mind manipulation. *After that, we're   
out of here,* he informed him grimly.  
  
*We have new orders about this, Son,* the older man commented in answer, feeling   
his own dark delight at the nature of those new instructions. *You must also   
retrieve Kenobi and bring him aboard the Death Star.*  
  
*Kenobi??* the youth gaped slightly at this. *I thought we were supposed to   
avoid involving him if possible.*  
  
*There is a change of plan,* Vader shook his head. *The Emperor wants me to use   
him to make the princess believe your story, and,* he added with a sneer, *he   
will be a good mentor for an inexperienced farm boy like who you are supposed to   
be... especially since he now want you to be revealed as a potential Jedi.*  
  
  
  
  
Luke was so shocked by his father's last comment that he momentarily interrupted   
their contact; take Kenobi as his mentor??????? Him? An already trained dark   
Jedi who could probably take on the old wizard without much trouble???   
  
*Why?* was all he could ask in answer.  
  
*Because the Rebellion will welcome a Jedi in their rank without asking any   
questions, and especially one who will come with the Republic's well-known   
general Kenobi,* his father commented with about as much disgust as he himself   
felt.   
  
Himself... with the arch nemesis of both his father and himself, the sole   
responsible for their personal hells and his actual secrecy.  
  
The Jedi he had wanted to kill for years...  
  
He would be a willing apprentice of this hated man...  
  
*How far does it have to go?* he asked his father although he already knew the   
answer.   
  
*As far as you have to go to be perfect, Luke,* his father answered in kind.   
*Remember, he has been searching for you for years now. Once you will retrieve   
the droids, use the astromech to get to Kenobi. He carries a message for the   
wizard.*  
  
Luke sighed heavily in reluctance. What he wouldn't do to be successful, he   
thought in disgust, then forced those thoughts down. It was his duty, he would   
do it, and that was it.  
  
*Count on me,* he assured his father, then cut their link.  
  
When he recovered his complete senses, the first sun had completely disappeared   
on the horizon and the second one was following suite, as if drawn by a magnet.  
  
Time to go to bed, he thought seriously, closing down his engine compartment.   
Tomorrow would be a most peculiar day.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
As it happened however, the Jawa Sandcrawler didn't reach the farm before late   
afternoon, unwillingly stalling the mission for that much longer. All day long,   
Luke used his persuasion skills to make his boss think of duties that he could   
accomplish around the farm--- then the Jawas finally showed up.  
  
As he had surmised, the older man was less than interested to buy from the   
little scavengers, but Luke resorted to a subtle mental push to convince him   
that they needed two extra droids, and they were on their way for a bargaining   
session with the alien creatures.  
  
While the other haggled for prices, Luke studied the robots--- and singled out   
the two droids his father had described to him.  
  
"Those two are fit enough for what we need, Sir," he commented at the other's   
glance.  
  
Another nudge of persuasion and the deal was done, with the two droids following   
Luke.  
  
As if he had saved them from some horrible fate, the protocal droid began to   
prattle about how he thanked him for choosing him; Luke pointedly ignored him,   
pretending to be distracted by something else. Noticing this, the tall droid   
turned his attention to the shorter machine... who gave him a raspberry about   
his pointless comment.  
  
  
Minutes later, Luke was cleaning the little one up while commenting about his   
carbon scoring.  
  
In fact though, he was scanning him to have a sense of his personality. He   
hadn't really needed to do so with the taller one though; the simple tremor in   
his mechanical voice, as well as the words that he had chosen to describe his   
dip in the oil bath, and he had understood that he was prissy, greatly annoying   
and easy to scare.  
  
That little one though was quite different, he thought even as he considered his   
options as to how to get it to Kenobi. It was reckless, defiant, and had truly   
seen a lot of action, he understood from its fearless, almost cocky attitude   
toward his new masters.... His running away wouldn't be a surprise to his   
companion, he surmised with a mental smirk even as his more conscious mind   
continued to lead a naive conversation about space battles with the taller   
droid, then refocused on his supposed cleaning.   
  
Then, it was time to set his plan in motion.  
  
"Well, there's something jammed in here real good," he grunted as he pried hard   
against a section of the plans.  
  
He mock-tumbled on his behind just as he managed to mentally trigger a part of   
the holo from the droid's databank.   
  
"Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope," the princess said once, twice,   
then again as the holo kept repeating itself.  
  
Jackpot!, Luke thought in satisfaction. Everything was in place now and it was   
up to him to move his pieces the right way to reach his goal.  
  
"What's that?" he asked as if in bemusement as he recovered from his voluntary   
rough landing.  
  
The little droid fluted something; since it wasn't betraying total surprise,   
Luke estimated that his manipulations had worked; the droid was convinced that   
the holo was its doing.   
  
"Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope," the Alderaanian princess   
repeated over and over.  
  
"He says it's nothing, Sir. Merely a malfunction, don't pay any attention to   
it," the prissy droid explained dufitully.  
  
"Who is she?" he commented, ignoring the robot's reply while pretending to be   
mesmerized by the rebel. "She's beautiful," he continued a little more   
earnestly than he had meant to, he then berated himself.   
  
Well, he admitted inwardly, she 'was' captivating, even here, in this context.   
Even if the sight of the young Princess had become somewhat familiar to him, he   
conceded that there was something different this time... then he understood. He   
was seeing the true Leia Organa, not the one edited by the news droids.   
  
She reminded him of the child he had briefly saw and the older teenager he had   
'almost' been introduced to--- then he pulled his thoughts away from the past   
and focused on 'Threepio's', as he was called, answer.  
  
"I'm afraid I'm not quite sure, Sir," the droid continued precisely. "Our   
Captain was---"  
  
"Is there anymore of this recording?" Luke cut him off, as if extremely eager to   
know more about the princess.  
  
In fact though, he was not interested to hear the droid's lengthy description of   
what he already knew. The droid called Artoo thrilled something else. Luke   
looked at the protocol droid for translation.   
  
Even though he spoke fluently more than ten languages and could understand   
another five or six, he had never cared to learn astro-mechanics fluting.  
  
"He says his old master was Obi-Wan Kenobi, a resident of these parts I believe,   
and that this is a part of a private message for him," Threepio decoded before   
going on with personal comments.  
  
Luke pretended to muse about this. "Obi-Wan Kenobi,... I wonder if he means   
old Ben Kenobi."   
  
He noticed the way the little droid seemed to suddenly pay attention. He spoke   
more clearly, as if reflecting out loud.  
  
"He's an old hermit, lives out in the Dune Sea. He's supposed to be a magician   
or something. Everybody avoids him..." he finished thoughtfully, then refocused   
on the still playing holographic recording. "She does sound in trouble," he   
commented, expertly changing the subject back to the princess.  
  
He moved toward the droid, as if meaning to play back the whole message. Artoo   
rolled backward, ,moving away from his reach. Luke pretended to be surprised by   
this, but he wasn't; he had been expecting this exact reaction from the little   
tin can.  
  
The droids chattered between themselves, dizzying him with their meaningless   
bickering.   
  
His trainer had been right, he admitted. Interacting with other entities was   
Definitely something else than merely going through them or even pretending   
while in training.   
  
The droid called Threepio spoke again.  
  
"He says that the restraining bolt is short-circuiting his system. He suggests   
that if you remove the bolt, he could replay the whole message."  
  
Luke shrugged mock-naively.   
  
"Sure, why not. You're too small to run away on me anyway."  
  
However, Luke knew better than that. He 'knew' that the astromech would run   
away, would seek Kenobi, and he himself would only have to go after him to get   
in touch with the cursed Jedi... and convince him that he had found young   
Skywalker... at last.  
  
He himself could only hope that his getting involved in the operation meant that   
the Emperor would finally allow either him or his father to kill him.  
  
Meanwhile, he removed the bolt; the holo went away... and the short guy played   
his 'new' role of would-be runaway to perfection.  
  
So did Luke... and the events unfolded exactly as he had planned when he left   
the two droids alone for a short while.  
  
As he stood, scanning the surrounding desert to find the missing droid, its   
companion went about describing how normal this was for the short robot.  
  
"Blast it, he's nowhere in sight," Luke commented in mock-worry, purposefully   
interrupting the endless chatter of the other robot.   
  
"Couldn't you go out after him, Sir?" Threepio inquired solicitously.  
  
"It's too dangerous with the Sand People," Luke shook his head. "We'll have to   
wait till morning. That little droid is gonna cause me a lot of trouble," he   
then added seriously, pinning his companion with his gaze.  
  
"Oh, he excels at that, Sir," Threepio nodded in agreement.  
  
He had better not be too good at that, Luke silently glared at the other in   
answer. Using the little guy to get to Kenobi was one thing, but getting   
trouble in this mission because of the droid was something else altogether. He   
made a note to keep an eye on the astromech when he would retrieve it the next   
morning.  
  
"Come on," he told the other, now quiet droid. "It's time to shut down the power   
for the night."  
  
The taller droid silently shuffled after him and they returned inside for the   
night. Tomorrow would be it, Luke thought grimly as he led him back to the   
garage.   
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
The next morning, the young dark Jedi retrieved the tall droid from the   
garage and went after the droid. Unbeknown to him, his father had received new   
orders from the Emperor during the night.   
  
The moment he left the farm, troops, who had already taken care of the Jawas,   
came down on the farm owners who had sheltered him to cover any traces that Luke   
Vader had ever been on a mission on Tatooine.  
  
Oblivious of this last development, Luke flew his speeder in the direction that   
the small droid had taken the previous night... On the way there, he pondered   
how he could make Kenobi show himself up for a rescue instead of his seeking him   
out... then he remembered his comments of the previous night about the Sand   
People and smirked inwardly before reaching out to contact the mind of an alien.   
  
Then, he 'located' the already pinpointed astromech while allowing some of his   
tight shield to loosen and let part of his presence filter through the Force.   
He finally stopped by the droid, in the canyon of a small rocky formation.  
  
"Hey, where do you think you're going?" he asked it even as he reached out to   
estimate how much stalling he needed to provide until the Sand people would   
show--- they were already here, he realized.  
  
At this very moment, Artoo began to rock from one clawfoot to another while   
whistling frantically.  
  
"What's wrong with him now?" he asked Threepio, truly confused about such   
behavior; was the droid going berserk on him now?  
  
Threepio hurriedly informed him that the little guy had detected the presence of   
the Tusken Raiders. While Luke pretended to be caught unaware by these news, he   
reluctantly admitted that the astromech had all his wires fused right. He was   
quite reliable for something this small and insignificant.  
  
He thus surmised that he didn't have to take it with him to pretend observing   
the Sand People.  
  
  
  
Two minutes later, and some willingly clumsy rock-climbing with a droid in tow,   
he had stationed himself on an outcrop... turning himself into an easy target   
for the aliens. While he scanned the landscape with his binoculars, he dimly   
reached out to check on Kenobi.  
  
While he naively commented on what he could see through his binocs, he   
restrained himself from chuckling in satisfaction as he felt that the other was   
already on his way to him, as he had foreseen. He had recognized his presence   
the moment he had allowed his essence in the Force filter through his mental   
shields---- then a warning came to him and he didn't have time to think anymore.  
  
As if materializing from thin air, a Tusken Raider invaded his field of vision   
and threw itself at him. His first instinct upon being attacked was to kill the   
other, but he fortunately remembered that he was supposed to be untrained in   
combat skills. Hence, he threw up his weapon up to block the descent of the   
raider's pike, let him push him hard on the rocky ground where he avoided two   
hits before he used a near miss and pretended to have been hit by it.  
  
The other believed his act, turned on the droid, which stumbled backward and   
fell down the cliff--- then the other returned beside his 'unconscious' self and   
studied him.   
  
Luke forced himself into a semi-trance to not betray his actual state with any   
unwelcome, reflexive reaction; hence, he didn't react at all when two pairs of   
grimy hands took hold of his biceps and pulled him off the ground before   
dragging him down the cliff toward his speeder. There, they dropped him down;   
Luke shielded his head with a Force-cushion, then lightly convinced his   
attackers that the speeder was more interesting than he was.  
  
While he waited for a certain hated Jedi to show up, he grew aware that the   
astromech was not far from him, beeping softly as if to wake him up without   
attracting the attention of the raiders. As if, the young dark Jedi thought in   
slight incredulity, the thing was worried for him.  
  
Before he could consider this further however, the cry of a Krayt Dragon invaded   
the air and rebounded from wall to wall; if not for his trance, Luke dimly   
reflected, he would have jumped in surprise at this, even if he knew who was at   
the origin of such a sound.  
  
Then, he didn't have time to think anymore as he felt the approaching presence   
of the wizard; he pulled himself deeper into his trance while redoubling his   
shields.  
  
More than ever, he was now entering the scene as Luke Skywalker, naive farm boy   
with a Force sensitivity.  
  
The other lightly probed his vital senses, then his consciousness with the   
Force--- but was startled by the nearby astromech before he could probe further.  
While Kenobi discusses with the droid, Luke decided that now was a good time to   
'recover' his senses.   
  
He slowly groaned and opened his eyes---- and his first instinct upon wakening   
at the Jedi's side was to kill him, but once again, he caught himself and forced   
down his reflexes.  
  
Instead, he played along, pretending to be a foolish young man named Luke   
Skywalker. Kenobi naturally recognized him, calling him by his name even before   
he had identified himself. He helped him to his feet and to a nearby rock; Luke   
was hard-pressed to not shove him away with his 'good' intentions.  
  
It was way too late to be kind to him, he wanted to snarl at him, but only   
inwardly. Outwardly, he began his story about how he had gone after the little   
droid who was curiously devoted to his former master... which then led to Kenobi   
revealing his identity to him.   
  
Bad move, Luke reflected meanly. The last thing someone in hiding should do   
was to reveal his true identity; he himself certainly wouldn't do this, he added   
in professional pride. Before he could reflect further on that point though,   
sandpeoples entered their field of awareness; he mock-eagerly accepted Kenobi's   
invitation to go to his place, but not before retrieving the second droid who   
might already be past history, he thought seriously.   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
Threepio hadn't been put out of commission with its accident, merely maimed.   
Hence, Luke and Kenobi reactivated him, helped him up, then they boarded the   
speeder and headed for the Jedi's place.  
  
After an interminably boring trek back to the Jedi's 'cave', and more annoying   
'naive' talk with him, Luke finally was able to find a refuge by working on the   
busted droid, who had been stupid enough to climb after him in the mountain.   
  
While he did so, the old rag dug around his things, looking for something, then   
he produced a lightsaber. He said that it was his father's.   
  
That stumped Luke. His father's lightsaber?? From when?, he wondered in   
confusion, then stood to his feet when the other offered it to him. The old man   
didn't have to tell him twice; Luke took hold of the weapon and studied it.  
  
The make seemed indeed familiar, he estimated, somewhat reminiscent of his   
father's actual design, if less evolved, he thought with a pout, then turned the   
weapon on.  
  
The temptation to cut the Jedi down instantly became extremely overpowering,   
especially since the other was standing close to him, but Luke forced himself   
away from the other. To pass his urge to wield the weapon, he tried a couple of   
moves to test the quality of the blade, then hurried to shut it off before he   
began more complex moves that would betray his already trained status.   
  
It was a good weapon, he reflected as he continued to study it. Perhaps it was   
his father's, but he would have to ask him when he would return, he decided.   
Something felt absolutely wrong about the weapon, as if another person had made   
it while mimicking his father... or something like this.  
  
He himself knew that his father had once been a deluded Jedi Knight, that he had   
served the weaker side of the Force before Kenobi had dueled with him and left   
him for dead in a lava pit. Could the weapon be from before that time?   
Somehow, he admitted, he had always thought that his father's actual weapon had   
always been with him, that he hadn't changed it when he had become the powerful,   
fearsome Darth Vader.   
  
Suddenly reaching a decision, he decided to test the Jedi's lies; he asked him   
how his father had died.   
  
His answer almost made him strangle him on the spot. How dare he suggest that   
Darth Vader had killed his father??? It was, he reflected, even worse than   
separating him from his father as a child since he had now set a story to   
convince him that his father wasn't his father. Had he not known the truth, he   
raged inwardly, that cursed Jedi would have just made him want to kill his own   
father, he cursed in dark anger.   
  
However, his training had been proficient; none of his feelings surfaced on his   
face. Instead of appearing angry, he managed to look naive and almost foolish.   
Thank the Force he already knew the truth, he seethed.  
  
A welcome silence ensued that sickening lie; Luke used that time to calm   
himself. He would have to be careful as to what he would ask to the Jedi, he   
decided. He was just liable to make him reveal himself through his powerful   
hatred directed at him.  
  
While Luke cooled down, the inconsiderate Jedi finally watched his message.   
Luke forced himself to listen to it so as to know the whole story of the   
princess. He thus noticed that, even more than the previous day, this was a   
princess he had rarely heard of before. She was much tougher than she led   
others to think. She truly was a gifted politician, he conceded; she knew how   
to hide her true intentions, those intentions coming from herself... or from   
someone else.  
  
However, he reflected as the other pondered her request, he somehow had the   
feeling that the girl would have gotten involved in a chase for the Death Star's   
plans whether his father would have influenced it or not. He could feel, from   
what he had already heard from her, that this was something she couldn't stand   
for, that it went against everything she believed.   
  
In a way, he conceded, he could understand her. He too didn't particularly care   
about his master's latest toy. He feared what would happen if the superweapon   
were ever used against a planet. The Emperor had told them that it was supposed   
to be only a deterrent, but considering who was in charge of the project, Luke   
wasn't as reassured as usually by his master's words.   
  
Tarkin was a vicious man, a man who acted then asked questions. Not a good   
approach, he thought grimly.  
  
"... if you are to come with me to Alderaan," Kenobi commented, his eyes shining   
with a strange light as he pulled him out of his inner world.  
  
For a moment, Luke didn't know exactly how to interpret the non-verbal signs of   
the man, then he opted for the easiest option: he gaped in disbelief.  
  
"Alderaan?" he gasped even as he shot to his feet then pretended to be flustered   
and unsure about this.  
  
However, as his father had told him, the Jedi had been looking for him for a   
long while and didn't mean to let him go this easily. Luke thus played along   
and let himself be convinced to accompany him... as far as Mos Eisley, he added   
meanly, not making it easy for the wizard.  
  
The other fell serious at this, as if considering his options. Since no one was   
looking at him, Luke allowed a smirk of satisfaction to cross his lips before it   
disappeared againg. The old fool never, ever realized that he was being   
played by a fully trained dark Jedi who could kill him before he would be aware   
of it, he thought in grim satisfaction. He was getting good at this, he patted   
himself on the back, then took a deep breath and resumed his perfect act of   
naivete.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
On their way to Mos Eisley, they ran into the expertly destroyed Sandcrawler.   
There, Luke pretended to put two and two together while assessing the troopers'   
excellent job of poor disguise, then the other informed him that his boss and   
his wife were also dead. Doubtful about this element, Luke used the silent   
moment to secretly reach out and checked for himself---- and was startled to   
find out that the farmers were indeed dead. For a moment, his mind reeled in   
shock. They hadn't been supposed to be die, his father had been supposed to   
brainwash them instead.  
  
Why?, he asked to the Force, unable to not feel sickened by the death of those   
two people who could have been his aunt and uncle... and the answer came to him   
from his extensive experience as an agent.  
  
Because it was the most efficient way to convince Kenobi of his choice for a new   
life now that his life here 'was' over.  
  
"I will come with you to Alderaan," he said, his voice charged with a sorrow   
that he was truly feeling this time.  
  
However, it was short-lived as he refocused on his mission, and all the elements   
that were now in place to insure his getting hooked with the Princess, and the   
hated Rebellion.  
  
They left the Jawas' graveyard and resumed their way toward the bustling   
spaceport.   
  
Unfortunately for Luke, Kenobi deemed it appropriate to 'begin' his Jedi   
training by sharing his Jedi 'wisdom' with him. Once again, Luke covered his   
hatred well by mimicking confusion and shyness; inwardly, he hoped that he   
wouldn't have to put up with this for too long. He also grew aware that the   
more he spent time with the old rag, the more he wanted to kill him for his past   
crimes.   
  
For the moment however, he smirked grimly inwardly, pretending not to understand   
seemed to be rather efficient to shut up the weak Jedi--- until the golden droid   
picked up after him and began chattering about nothing and everything.   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
They finally made it to Mos Eisley, and not too soon, he thought in frustration.   
Kenobi and the droid were most insufferable when put together. However, both   
oft hem shut up when they reached the spaceport; his father's troops were   
everywhere.   
  
While he was pleased that the deterrent effect of such a sight was effective   
even with cursed Jedi teachers, he estimated that they would help him reinforce   
his cover.   
  
Natrually, a control stopped them before they reached the inner part of the   
city. At first it was simply a matter of answering questions... then Kenobi got   
the idea to persuade the trooper with the Force to let them pass, but he wasn't   
really successful.   
  
Grunting unhappily yet inwardly at this, Luke subtly reinforced his manipulation   
until the trooper didn't wonder anymore why he was repeating after the old man.   
They were let through.  
  
The fool! Luke cursed vehemently. If he didn't know how to use the Force   
anymore, than he had better leave it alone, he thought angrily; he had almost   
ruined it for them with his fledgling powers.   
  
For a second Luke wished that Mara was beside him instead of the crazy old   
man; at least, he reflected seriously, he wouldn't have to worry about her   
messing up the mission.   
  
The thought of her brought back home how he missed her--- but as he had done for   
the past days, he forced those thoughts down and refocused on his mission.  
  
He had to succeed, he reminded himself. Only his mission was important... his   
role.  
  
  
  
  
Five minutes later, he was shutting down the speeder in front of a cantina,   
slightly jostling the stick and his passengers to cover his ace-pilot skills; it   
was extremely well-known how unstable speeders were, except when piloted by   
professional pilots.   
  
They disembarked from the small craft. Kenobi seemed satisfied by his choice of   
destination. Luke scowled inwardly. He didn't need Kenobi's help to choose   
this destination, he wanted to tell him. As an agent, he knew everything there   
was to know about those meeting places; he had spied and invaded enough of them   
to even know more than fifty common characteristics about those establishments.   
  
He thus braced himself for what would probably be a hive of scum and villainy.   
  
Meanwhile, he pretended to be awed by what the old man had just 'done' with the   
troops. Old fool, he reflected once again in anger as the other took   
responsibility for their success. If he himself hadn't been there, they would   
be on their way to the nearest Imperial prison, or even already dead.   
  
While the other man was turning his back to him, Luke glared blaster bolts at   
the back of his head--- then he recovered his naive dispositions.  
  
Inside the cantina though, Luke scrunched up his face in disgust.   
  
Yuck, this was even worse than he had thought, he conceded. The smell alone   
indicated that many patrons had probably delayed many baths or showers between   
their runs; the place itself looked less than clean. Heck, he then reflected   
ungraciously, even his 'boss' oil pit had been cleaner than this bar.   
  
He looked around, as much to cover his identity as to assess the place for any   
threat. He thus noticed that old Kenobi was already deep into conversation with   
a Wookiee.   
  
Great, he muttered in disgust, aliens now. First two droids he couldn't shut   
down to keep them interfering, then a bothersome would-be Jedi, and now aliens.  
This mission truly was full of surprises, he conceded even as he steeled himself   
for more surprises.  
  
While he stepped closer to the bar, he called up what he knew about Wookiees.  
They were extremely strong creatures, he thus remembered, they made wonderful   
slaves once they had been beaten into submission, and they were gifted   
mechanics.   
  
Either that particular Wook was a slave to one of the patrons, he estimated,   
then reflected that it was quite unlikely, or it was a mechanic at the spaceport   
or aboard a ship.  
  
Before he could push his reflection further though, an other alien shoved him   
and grunted something vehement at him. Luke whirled toward him; his drink in   
his hands allowed him to not attack the Aqualish. He pretended to not   
understand him and turned back to his dubious beverage.   
  
Two seconds later, a tap on his shoulder attracted his attention in his back   
once again. Luke took a second to focus on his role only, then turned--- and   
winced at the ugliness of the man who dutifully translated the threat that the   
alien had just thrown at him.  
  
Before he could defend himself, or excuse himself, Kenobi came up behind Luke   
and tried to calm down the aliens.  
  
Wrong tactic, Luke estimated--- and was proven right when the other shoved him   
aside. He crashed hard into the closest table. Before he could react though,   
and ruin his cover, Kenobi had drawn his lightsaber and 'cut' the trouble away.  
  
While he pretended to be as awed as the rest of the nearby patrons, Luke smirked   
inwardly. As he had suspected, the Jedi would be no match for him if he were to   
challenge him in a duel to the death. However, he didn't have much time to   
contemplate the blissful thought before he had to resume his perfect act.  
  
"I'm all right," he commented the moment the Jedi bent down to help him up.  
  
Kenobi seemed to understand his lack of interest over pointless checks and went   
straight to the point.  
  
He thus discovered that he been more or less right about the Wookiee:   
Chewbacca, as it was called, was a co-pilot for a smuggler...   
  
  
  
Han Solo.  
  
Luke promised himself that he would never forget that character. Even though   
the man was sitting, the young dark Jedi could see, and feel, that he was full   
of swagger; he surmised that he was a daredevil who liked nothing more than   
money, and more money.   
  
Luke could also feel that this pilot would test his false identity by ribbing   
the naive, simple farmboy that he was supposed to be. He was too easy a reason   
to crow to let it pass, he sneered at himself in disgust. Hence, he remained   
silent... until the man named his price.  
  
"Ten thousands?" he exclaimed in naive yet outraged disbelief. "We could almost   
buy our own ship for that!" he commented in disgust at the outlaw's fare.   
  
Now he understood why he and his partner had been sent after smugglers for a few   
years on end; they were a leeching the good citizens of their money.  
  
"Yeah, but who's gonna fly it, Kid? You?" the other sneered in answer.  
  
"You bet I could," he retorted, briefly foregoing his role to be Luke Vader   
again and stare the other down. "I'm not such a bad pilot my---"   
  
He was rising from his seat to stare down the arrogant smuggler; Kenobi's hand   
appeared on his arm to calm him down... and made him realize what he had just   
done. Luke settled back in his seat and his character but allowed himself the   
luxury of glowering at the smuggler pilot.  
  
Then Kenobi offered almost the double to the pilot; Luke couldn't help but   
gape. Now he knew that the old Jedi was mad, he reflected grimly, then admitted   
that it was no wonder that smugglers were still flourishing in the galaxy; they   
were being encouraged by the likes of Kenobi.  
  
When he'd return 'home', he promised himself, he would request a special   
permission to go after the smuggling business, once and for all.   
  
Meanwhile, the deal was concluded, with two thousand credits now and fifteen   
when they reached Alderaan.   
  
Well, he thought sarcastically, it just left the tiny detail of finding the   
first two thousand credits, he wanted to sneer at the fool Jedi. Even with the   
work he had put on, his speeder would never be worth this much.  
  
His warning senses suddenly tingled; he refrained from turning around to see   
what Solo's eyes were already tracking, but he could feel the presence of   
troopers all the same.   
  
Normally, he reflected, he would already be up and slinking toward the back   
door, but here, in his stupid role of farmboy, he couldn't do so. However, he   
exchanged a demanding gaze with the Jedi.  
  
They stood up and moved toward the back door.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
About an hour later, Luke had sold his beaten up speeder for the meager sum of a   
thousand five hundred credits, and had collected all his charges. On the way to   
the docking bay, he felt a new warning sensation; beside him, Kenobi didn't   
react in any way. Making a decision, Luke covertly probed his surroundings---   
and spotted the presence of a spy nearby. He briefly debated whether to let the   
alien betray them or not... then decided that imperial interruption would be a   
good way to convince everyone of the importance of their 'mission'. However, he   
reflected seriously as he reintegrated his own senses, he would also have to   
make sure that they wouldn't keep 'him' from completing his mission.  
  
When Luke felt as if Kenobi was about to speak to him, he subtly nudged him to   
walk silently and keep his tricks and wisdom for himself.  
  
They reached the docking bay without any mishap. From his missions against   
smugglers, Luke knew that a smuggler's ship didn't belong to beauty, but what he   
saw was the last straw. Never in his life had he---  
  
"That's a starship? What a piece of junk!" he exclaimed truthfully.  
  
"She'll fly point five past lightspeed, Kid," Solo rebuked him instantly.  
  
Luke wanted to whistle, impressed despite himself, but his naive farmboy wasn't   
supposed to know what it meant; he remained silent. Meanwhile, Solo kept   
crowing about his ship, then finally remembered that they had paid to   
be transported, not for a visit.  
  
They had barely begun to board the ship when the troops made their appearance;   
they instantly opened fire on the Falcon.  
  
Luke reluctantly ran inside, assuming his role of young greenhorned. However,   
he was aware that he could have deflected the blaster bolts with the lightsaber   
that Kenobi had given to him, and he would have enjoyed the exercise, he   
conceded seriously.   
  
Inside the ship, he pretended to not know where to head. Kenobi grabbed his arm   
and steered him toward the lounge. The droids followed, the golden one   
prattling on about how dangerous their current situation was. In front of him,   
Luke freed his arm from the sorcerer's hold as soon as he could.   
  
His touch, he reflected sourly, sickened him almost as much as an alien's.   
  
Outside, the fight went on for a few more moments, then he heard Solo's shouts   
as he ran in the corridor toward the cockpit. The take off was bouncy, to say   
the least, but the imperial blaster fire rebounded against their shields.   
When heavy fire began to rock the ship however, Luke undid his belt and ran   
toward the cockpit.   
  
He had to see what was going on, he decided seriously, perhaps he needed to even   
the odds. As he reached the cockpit, he saw that the troops were indeed quite   
efficient for once. They were already being harassed by two Star Destroyers,   
not by Ties. Normally not a good point for the commanders, he thought grimly,   
but he would forgive them for once. The ships tried hard to keep the smuggler   
ship from escaping, their blasts coming a tad too close to his liking. Before   
he could really worry though, he discovered that Solo was quite a pilot; he   
would pull them through, he understood.   
  
While the pilot and his co-pilot calmly maneuvered them out of Tatooine's   
gravity field, Luke pretended to be alarmed, the exact opposite of his feelings.  
  
"Are you kidding, at the rate they're gaining??!" he answered Solo's last   
comment about having to wait after the computer's calculations.  
  
Naturally, the other shot him a snide remark about dusting crops--- and missed   
the appearance of the ready light on the board. Luke, who wasn't exactly   
worried about their safety, also knew better than to wait for his true allies to   
think about using their tractor beams on them.   
  
"What's that flash??" he asked worriedly, pointing at the blinking light of the   
nav-computer.  
  
Solo slapped his hand away from the board; Luke was hard-pressed to not hit him   
back in answer, but Kenobi was already pushing him out of the cockpit and back   
into the lounge where they could strap themselves in for the jump to lightspeed.  
  
The ship finally made it through, unscathed.   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
On their way to Alderaan, Kenobi offered him to begin his training. Luke was   
tempted to feign the need to sleep, but he knew that it would alarm the   
Jedi that something was wrong, especially considering his 'earnest' vow to   
become a Jedi like his father before him.   
  
Hence, Luke Vader reluctantly submitted to the would-be Jedi's tedious,   
boring lessons about feelings and visualization.   
  
It took him all his control not to move faster while using his feelings and   
already trained skills. And to think that Kenobi praised him for what little he   
accomplished with him, Luke thought in annoyance. Fool, he mused darkly, if he   
only knew...   
  
  
  
  
  
The exercises followed one after the other, until he tried to convince the Jedi   
to fence with him 'for practice'. Wary of such exercises, the Jedi instead used   
a remote to make him practice his sensing skills.   
  
Focusing on the said remote, Luke was trying hard to smother what he already   
knew and felt---- when a huge rip appeared in the Force, suddenly tearing apart   
his senses even as too many voices to count screamed out in terror, then quieted   
and disappeared as if they had never been. Even as he reeled under the assault,   
he forcefully smothered both his non-verbal and verbal signs of pain; not too   
far from him, the Jedi also faltered. The youth looked up just as the other   
found a seat on a nearby crate.   
  
For a moment, Luke debated whether to go to him or not, then decided that liked   
it or not, that's what Skywalker would do.  
  
"Are you all right?" he asked him in mock-worry while working on his own, secret   
recovery from the horrible experience.  
  
Kenobi nodded and explained exactly what he himself had felt, then added: "I   
fear something horrible has just happened."  
  
Luke-the-farmboy didn't understand what he meant, but Luke Vader did. The Death   
Star had been used, he thought in cold horror even as he returned to his   
exercise. Something had happened and Tarkin had decided to use the superweapon,   
but had it been with? Or without the Emperor's consent?, Luke wondered   
uneasily. What he had just felt had been horrible... unlike anything he had   
ever felt, not even when he had destroyed whole ships with hundreds of beings   
aboard them.   
  
This had been... a whole planet, he thought in resent at the pompous, arrogant   
Tarkin. They hadn't been supposed to use it, he wanted to scold the cruel man   
before killing him for what he had just done; their master had only meant to   
scare people with it, not destroy whole civilizations with the push of a   
button!!!  
  
Before he could venture further down that path of thoughts, Solo returned from   
the cockpit and changed the mood.  
  
He made fun of Jedi skills. Considering the mood he was already in, Luke didn't   
take his insults lightly. Stupid commoner, the dark Jedi growled inwardly while   
the other exposed his way of seeing things; Solo, like the others, was unable to   
believe things without seeing them. When Kenobi approached him with another   
exercise, Luke decided to 'cooperate' this time and give something to think   
about to the pilot.  
  
It didn't exactly work, but at the same time, he felt that he got his mind going   
on a path of thought he wasn't used to consider. However, before he could   
challenge him about this, the proximity signal went off; they were there.  
  
  
  
  
  
According to his father's plan, Luke's role was to bring the Death Star   
near Alderaan where the Death Star itself would be, an ominous threat... But   
when they exited hyperspace, Luke realized that a major change of plan had taken   
place; Alderaan wasn't there anymore.  
  
"What's going on?" he asked innocently as he walked in the Falcon's cockpit who   
was being bounced around by asteroids; the moment that he saw the rubbles   
outside however, he doubly shielded his true self and contacted his now nearby   
father. Alderaan had been destroyed!!!  
  
*What happened??* he asked him in a mix of worry, true horror, and cold   
readiness to adapt to a change of plans.  
  
*Tarkin couldn't resist the temptation to use the master's toy,* his father   
answered, allowing to feel that he was sharing all his feelings about what had   
happened. *Since the Emperor has given him a free hand in this matter, I   
couldn't convince him otherwise.*  
  
*Not even with the Force?* Luke asked even as the others began to comment on   
what had happened outside.   
  
*The Emperor wouldn't have approved, Son,* he reminded him, *However, he   
doesn't seem to approve the actual results either,* he commented seriously.   
*Alderaan held a strategic position in several fields,* he began.  
  
*Its disappearance won't go unnoticed for long,* Luke finished grimly. *Kreth,   
what did Tarkin think about before doing this?* he asked in anger as he foresaw   
the consequences of such destruction on his own, already tricky mission.  
  
*He didn't,* his father commented in disgust, then cooled down and informed him   
about the next step in their plan.  
  
When Luke re-entered his full senses, Kenobi was grimly finishing to say:   
"Destroyed, by the Empire."   
  
The youth fell right back in his role: "What? How???" he gaped as he whirled   
toward him.  
  
While Solo strongly objected to this, surprising Luke with the human compassion   
that was coming from the other, he also admitted that even though he himself   
supported everything his master did, he couldn't help but think that building a   
weapon capable of destroying a planet had been a huge mistake.   
  
As he watched the hailing rocks outside, he was once again stricken by the   
actual size of the destruction. People, he reminded himself, and vegetation,   
used to flourish on the pieces of rocks that were now floating outside----  
  
Suddenly, a TIE fighter came out of nowhere. Right, he thought as he snapped   
out of his dangerous rummaging. It was time to get on with the fake rescue and   
deliver Kenobi to his father while retrieving the Princess from her cell.   
  
It was easy to focus on the action this time since both Luke Vader and Luke   
Skywalker were determined to not lose the TIE from sight, leading the Falcon   
toward their pre-ordained destination.   
  
A few minutes later, they entered the field of the tractor beams that were   
surrounding the huge space station. Solo was quick all right, Luke conceded   
reluctantly. While the other set about turning to full reverse, Luke discreetly   
reached out and lowered the strength of the Falcon's engines, thus making sure   
that the other wouldn't pull of 'another' escape.   
  
They were finally pulled inside the Death Star.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
By the time the techs aboard the station had landed them in the hangar bay, the   
crew and passengers of the Falcon were all hiding under her deck plates.   
  
Solo complained about the Wookiee's size; Luke could only agree with him, he   
conceded. He reflected that he could barely bear up with the beast's smell and   
fur, let alone its close presence against him. Darn aliens, he cursed inwardly   
while he steeled himself for the still ongoing experience.  
  
The boarding parties finally stepped aboard. While the pilot and alien focused   
on the footsteps of the scouts, Luke re-established the contact with his father,   
forcing himself to stick to the mission this time.   
  
*The princess is in detention block AA-23, Son,* his father informed him, also   
refraining from venturing into what they could both feel as the delicate subject   
of late Alderaan. *You have two hours to break her out before Tarkin orders her   
termination. Then I will take care of Kenobi,* he finished grimly.  
  
*You can kill him?* he asked in pleasant surprise, and was answered with a   
positive feeling.  
  
After this, his father ordered the troopers out of the ship, once again creating   
an opportunity for him to move on with his mission.   
  
*It is up to you now, Son, but I will be ready if you need more assistance in   
moving troops,* his father sent him, then ordered his officer to send a scanning   
crew aboard.  
  
Luke instantly made a plan as to how he would use this to his advantage.  
  
Nearby, the smuggler began to shift around, bringing him back to his actual   
whereabouts. Back to naive business, he reminded himself as Solo began to open   
their exit route.  
  
He noticed that the smuggler was having trouble to push the plate open. He   
added his own strength to his, only too eager to take his distance from the   
smelly alien.   
  
"Boy, it's lucky you had these compartments," he commented foolishly.   
  
They were far from being out of it of course, but his naive farmboy wouldn't see   
this. Much to Luke's frustration, the smuggler and Ben argued again about   
Solo's last comment, then they agreed on a plan.   
  
If they hadn't, Luke told himself as he positioned himself out of the way, he   
would have stepped in and told them what to do. As the scanning troops began to   
walk up the ramp, he had to keep himself from knocking out the soldiers and   
troopers by himself; that way, he thought in frustration, he would at least vent   
some anger, but he knew better than to reveal his deadly fighting skills.   
  
He settled for waiting for the others to impress him.   
  
They didn't. Their tactics were as old as easy to guess. If the troops hadn't   
been green, thanks to his father's foreseeing, they wouldn't have fallen this   
easily.   
  
"Luke, you and Han will go ahead of us in these," old Ben said, indicating the   
troopers' armors.  
  
Now he shared the pilot's disbelief.  
  
"What?!" they both exclaimed.   
"You won't be recognized in them," the wizard explained. "You will make sure   
the path is clear all the way to the control room of the hangar bay."  
  
"Oh for---" Solo argued.   
  
His Wookiee silenced him.  
  
Luke looked at the armor. Lord Vader's son should never have to stoop as low as   
wearing soldiers' uniforms, he thought to himself, but he was also an agent and   
knew when he had to ignore those beliefs. He had just never groveled this low   
before, not even when he had been a slave, he thought in disgust. Back then, he   
had had at least the honor to serve his master personally... not at all like   
the shock troops who were doing their job for a pay.  
  
He slightly wondered what his lover would say if she were here. Get on with it,   
he admitted as he snapped back to his senses.   
  
He pretended to gape for a few seconds before helping the other man strip the   
troopers of their armors. He himself naturally knew everything there was to   
know about trooper's armor; thus he also knew what was tricky for the green   
soldiers.   
  
Hence, he 'tried' three times to hook his belt in place until the Jedi helped   
him. Then, he searched for the transmitter, which was hidden in the helmet.   
Once he had made enough of a fool of himself, he drew his blaster and waited for   
Solo's orders.   
  
Kenobi's plan was crazy, he thought for the tenth time since the other had   
revealed it; he decided that he would have to distract the troops to make sure   
that they would survive this little excursion of two droids, a Jedi, a Wookiee,   
and two troopers.   
  
Did he have it his own way, the droids would stay aboard the ship, and the   
Wookiee and Jedi would be prisoners, but Kenobi saw it differently and he   
himself wasn't supposed to know anything about tactics.  
  
Well, he relented unhappily, it would still get him where he needed to go; he   
went along with the impossible plan. Still, he thought in frustration, it would   
be so easy to take the lead and get them straight where he had to go...  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
By the time they reached their secret destination, Luke really felt like putting   
a few laser bolts in the Corellian's head. Perhaps that would give him back   
some of his senses, he thought in anger.   
  
"Between his howling and your blasting everything in sight, it's a wonder the   
whole station doesn't know we're here," he snarled caustically.  
  
"Bring them on. I prefer a fight to all this sneaking around," Solo challenged   
confidently.  
  
Luke barely restrained himself from lashing out at the man with the Force, but   
Kenobi interrupted his coming tirade as he focused the droids.   
  
The little droid was good, no doubt about that, Luke admitted as he focused on   
the machine to take his mind off what he could do to Solo. He thus gaped at the   
speed with which it located the tractor beam.   
  
Kenobi naturally decided to leave them and turn it off by himself, well good   
riddance, Luke thought in satisfaction. Whether he came with him or not, it   
wouldn't save him from his fate, but he himself wouldn't complain about not   
seeing him again and having to keep him out of trouble. He then reflected that   
the old man should borrow some of the droid's intelligence, and Solo too for   
that matter, he added in annoyance.  
  
Once Solo commented that he the tractor beam wasn't part of their deal, Luke   
pretended that he wanted to go with him. Fortunately, the other thought   
otherwise and left him alone.  
  
And now, the dark Jedi thought seriously, he had to mount his 'rescue' of the   
Princess. He secretly juggled connections in 'Artoo' and made him search for   
the location of the Princess.  
  
Once they were alone, he used the Corellian's disobliging comment about the Jedi   
to start an argument with him.  
  
"Who do you think got us this far----" he retorted hotly to his last remark, but   
was interrupted by insistent whistling from the little guy.  
  
Pretending to be puzzled, he walked closer, asking information about who the   
droid had found.  
  
At first, he tried to appeal to the aloof Corellian with an offer to counter his   
earlier comment about anything being better than staying here, then, when it   
didn't work, to the human kindness he could feel in him by reminding him that   
the girl was about to be killed, but the older man still didn't answer like he   
expected him to; instead, he retorted: "Better her than me."  
  
Frustrated by this answer and his lack of results, Luke considered what else he   
knew about the smuggler, about his ship and what appealed to him... then he got   
his answer.  
  
"She's rich," he commented suavely, tauntingly, leaning once again closer to   
Solo's hear.  
  
That got his attention, and Luke had the perfect alibi for retrieving the   
princess, but his way, he reflected seriously as he put his helmet back on, and   
without blowing his cover of a green-horned youth.  
  
Behind them, the droids weren't exactly reassured by his "Lock the door.", naive   
advice.  
  
  
  
TBC in part 13: Luke Skywalker  
  
  
******  
  
Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)   
(Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean or beside the point stuff won't   
even be read.) 


	13. part 13: Luke Skywalker

Part 13: Luke Skywalker  
By SJ 03-03-00/12-12-00 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
________________  
  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
  
Naturally, everything coming straight from the movie, words or situations,   
belong even more than the rest to George Lucas. It is still only for fun,   
nothing else.  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving me some of your   
precious time, my friend :)  
  
  
__________________  
  
  
  
Their short walk into the station and up to the detention block went without any   
mishap, except for an unlucky mouse robot that got a sensory overload due to the   
Wookiee's threatening growl.  
  
But now they had reached their destination: detention block AA-23, maximum   
security wing.  
  
At first, the officers didn't seem sure as to how to treat their arrival. Since   
Luke had to make sure that the princess' escape wouldn't look too easy to the   
smugglers' eyes, he mentally prodded the imperial officers to doubt whatever   
they said about their clearance.   
  
Playing his role to perfection, the Wookiee broke loose the moment that two   
guards walked forward to cover them; the ensuing firefight caught the soldiers   
Unprepared. Given the number of blaster shots in the small space of the   
dispatch center, nobody paid attention to Luke's perfect aim; whenever he fired,   
he hit his target, be it a surveillance screen or a guard. Solo and the Wookiee   
took care of the remaining targets, then they were alone.  
  
However, the firefight hadn't gone unnoticed by the surveillance team; they were   
already trying to contact them, Luke understood as he finally heard the   
insisting beeping that was coming from the command console. Considering that   
nobody but his father knew about his own mission, he suspected that real trouble   
would soon come up their way.  
  
Solo also seemed to understand this; he told him in which cell the princess was,   
then answered the call. Luke heard his first fumbling answer, cursed as he   
realized that troops were already on their way toward them, then focused on his   
mission.  
  
He was about to make contact with his target; he had to make it past her rebel   
wariness.  
  
He found the cell and unlocked it. Inside, the young woman was sleeping   
peacefully; her beauty stumped him once again. Ever since he had first seen   
her on her father's lap, he dimly reflected, he had felt fascinated by her...   
And it had eventually caused him trouble with his master. Combined with the   
fact that his girlfriend was also jealous of the young woman, he should, by any   
right, have stopped being intrigued by her, he conceded, yet he still couldn't   
help but be interested by her.   
  
She finally woke up; he remained silent.   
  
"Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?" she asked him in light sarcasm.  
  
For a moment, Luke didn't know what she was talking about, then he realized that   
he had really been acting like a fool this time. He decided to go on wtih his   
act.  
  
"Oh, the uniform!" he exclaimed as he removed his helmet, then he took on his   
best earnest expression; his trainer would be proud of him, he thought dimly.   
"I'm Luke Skywalker, I'm here to rescue you."  
  
"You're who?" she frowned.   
  
Darn, the woman was suspicious, he understood. He tried another angle.  
  
"I'm here to rescue you, I've got your droids," he added quickly.  
  
The young woman didn't show an inkling to follow him.   
  
"I'm here with Ben Kenobi," he added as he remembered her beseeching message to   
the cursed Jedi.  
  
"Ben Kenobi! Where is he?" she asked, rising to a sitting position.  
  
Jackpot! Luke thought in satisfaction. "Come on!" he urged her eagerly, then   
followed her out of the cell. As he joined her in the deserted corridor, he   
reflected that his father's erasing of her memory of him had worked wonderfully.  
Before he could consider another thought however, they ran straight into the   
smuggler and his alien.  
  
"Can't get out that way!" the pilot uselessly warned them.   
  
Before Luke could play his role of a naive, green fighter, however, the Princess   
Retaliated vehemently.  
  
"Looks like you've cut off our only escape route," she snapped.  
  
Upon hearing this, Luke decided to let the two outlaws play this one between   
themselves while he monitored the already gathering troopers at the end of the   
corridor.   
  
"Perhaps you'd like it back in your cell, your Highness," the Corellian sneered   
in disrespect.   
  
The princess might have answered something to this, but a fraction of a second   
before a bolt caught the Princess in the chest, Luke pulled her down and toward   
the opposite wall. She might be a rebel, and she might have to die or become a   
prisoner again, he reflected as he opened fire on his master's troops, but   
for the moment, and until his mission was completed, he had to protect her.   
He covered her with his body while he called his droid; he estimated that this   
would be what a green-horned kid would try if he didn't know what to do. The   
droid answered him.  
  
While he listened to his detailed report, he was careful to not be too accurate   
with his blaster while keeping the remaining troops from taking advantage on   
them.   
  
"There isn't any other way out!" he yelled to the others.   
  
As if they already didn't know that, he thought sardonically. What he wouldn't   
say to play his role to perfection, he sighed inwardly as he fell one of the   
best trooper. While he kept his eyes on their enemies, his two other human   
companions continued to argue despite the deadly bolts that were coming their   
way.   
  
Two seconds later, Luke felt about ready to tell them that now was not the   
moment to find who's fault it was--- when the princess grabbed his blaster and   
fired at the grid that was just beside Solo's legs.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?" the smuggler exclaimed.   
  
Luke, who could only gape at the girl, dimly admitted that he wanted to ask just   
about the same thing.   
  
The woman glared at both of them. "Somebody has to save our skins."  
  
She crossed the chasm, wielding the blaster as well as any trooper he had   
ever seen. Well, he reflected in renewed interest, that was unexpected--- she   
tossed him back his gun, pulling him out of his temporary daze.   
  
"Into the garbage chute flyboy." She ordered them, then jumped in feet first.   
  
After some arguing with the pilot, the Wookiee followed her down, leaving the   
two men in the corridor.  
  
"Wonderful girl," Solo commented caustically. "Either I'm gonna kill her or I'm   
beginning to like her."  
  
Luke could only agree with him; he hadn't expected her to possess any skills   
with weapons, yet it was obvious that she had had some training of some kind.  
  
He was the next one to jump down the smelly hole; Solo was hot on his heels.   
  
Huh, he choked on his thought as he hit the gaseous limit of the stench of the   
garbage masher. It reeked! In all his life, he had been in many strange,   
disgusting places, but nothing had ever even come close to the garbage chute of   
a base, not even that muddy planet where he had failed his first test. He   
landed on a pile of detritus and immediately spotted the door; he recovered his   
balance and fired at it.   
  
He barely had time to duck before the ricochet caught him. The princess also   
had the good sense to hide under the nearest pile of detritus. When the blast   
wore itself out, she threw a glare at him; Luke answered her with a sheepish   
expression.  
  
Neither Luke Skywalker nor Luke Vader had known about the shield anyway, he   
thought to himself.   
  
Solo came down right after that and instantly began a complain about the place.   
The princess glared at him in answer while Luke tried to think of a way to get   
them out of this predicament without blowing his cover.   
  
This, he conceded, wasn't something he had been prepared for.  
  
While he considered his options, Solo spotted the door and also fired at it.   
  
"Don't!" he warned even as he ducked once again to save his life.  
  
Everybody else dove for cover as the bolt ricocheted around the small enclosing.   
  
"Will you forget it, the door's magnetically sealed," Luke snapped irritatingly   
once the danger was over.   
  
This time, his attitude hadn't been an act, he realized dimly; he really wanted   
to jump down the trigger-happy, smuggler's throat.   
  
The princess beat him to it.  
  
"Put that thing away; you're gonna get us all killed," she yelled angrily.  
  
Even as the two of them went at it once again, and that the Wookiee uselessly   
tried to open the door, Luke suddenly felt a warning of danger and looked around   
himself. There was something wrong in---- then he understood as a low groan   
resounded throughout the damp room.  
  
Something was waiting for its next prey in here.   
  
He warned the others even as he slowly backed away from whatever it was; he saw   
what looked like a tentacle, heard a plopping sound, but when it came to   
pinpointing it, he strangely couldn't do so. --- It grabbed hold of his right   
shin and pulled him under the shallow waters.   
  
Abandoning his naive role, Luke fought hard against--- a dianoga, he finally   
identified as he felt a second tentacle wrap around his chest to keep him under   
the water. He did his best to sit up and break for air while trying to find the   
beast and fire at him. When he finally felt its focused presence, he   
discovered that his blaster was jammed. Great, he cursed.   
  
Over him, he could see the others who were looking for him, but the waters were   
too murky; they couldn't see him... and he was slowly running out of air.   
Suddenly gathering his focus, he strained against the tentacles and managed to   
break the surface, gasping for air.   
  
"Blast it!" he instantly yelled at the pilot.  
  
"Where?"  
  
"Anywhere!"   
  
The stupid Corellian shot anywhere but at the creature. Meanwhile, Luke   
continued to strain against the tentacle that was still firmly wrapped around   
him and tried to get to his feet--- only to be pulled under in the next   
second.   
  
Even as his head hit the bottom of the steel room, he decided that this was it.   
Since he couldn't count on anyone to help him, he wouldn't let that creature   
drown him. Using his left hand, he reached under his chest plate and called his   
hidden lightsaber to his hand.   
  
*Enough playing with you,* he thought darkly, then willingly swam closer to the   
location of the voracious creature. He felt that the beast felt his danger a   
nanosecond before his lightsaber cut through the tentacle that was holding him,   
then skewered its now nearby head. He then kicked away from it to return to his   
previous location.   
  
While he was still underwater and hiding his weapon, a heavy rumbling noise came   
out of nowhere--- then he himself broke the surface again and gasped for air.   
  
"What happened?" the princess inquired.  
  
Luke wanted to glare at her. What did she think had just happened?, he thought   
in annoyance. That he had been playing with the creature?  
  
While the pilot helped him to his feet he answered something crazy to the   
Princess.  
  
"I have a bad feeling about this," Solo muttered, warily watching the walls   
around them.   
  
About what? Luke wondered. The moment he thought about that though, the walls   
began to move toward one another. Oh boy, this wasn't good!, he instantly   
surmised. He mimicked his friends and took a position near the walls.  
While he strained against them though, he reached out and warned his father that   
he would need his assistance to get out of this one.  
  
*What do you need?* his father asked him.  
  
*Be ready to shut down the compactor when I will give you the signal, then   
you'll have to open the door.*  
  
*I'll be waiting for your signal,* he reassured him even as he felt him head for   
a computer station.  
  
Luke set his plan in motion; he tried to contact the droids. At first, they   
were absent. Terrific, he growled inwardly; now he really had it. If they   
weren't there, then he would blow his cover if the compactor stopped by itself.   
  
The walls relentlessly moved closer, with the princess and Solo trying to block   
them with some metal rods. It was useless, Luke knew; the compactors were   
designed to crush 'anything'.  
  
The walls were perhaps a meter away from one another when the droids finally   
came back on line. Given their current situation, he knew that the droid   
wouldn't be fast enough. Hence, his father took care to maintain the illusion   
of efficiency.   
  
When the walls finally stopped, Luke ribs had begun to complain under the   
pressure. Thus, while the others celebrated, he wished that he could take a   
deep breath of relief, no matter how bad it smelled around him, but he was   
solidly wedged between the walls. Hence, he instead told the droids to open the   
maintenance hatch; his father once again doubled for the astromech.  
  
  
  
Ten minutes later, they were outside the compactor and preparing to rejoin the   
pirate's ship. Luke took a moment to catch his breath while ditching his   
shameful trooper armor, then he resumed his naive role. One thing he knew now,   
he reflected seriously, was to not let the Princess take the lead.  
  
For once, Solo seemed to share his opinion, but the haughty woman was far from   
swallowing the pill. However, before she could answer, the big Wookiee ran apst   
them as if scared. Solo turned around at this--- and shot at the dianoga's   
showing tentacle.   
  
"No wait, they'll hear!", the princess warned him for Luke, to no avail.   
  
Both him and the princess rolled their eyes in exasperation before refocusing on   
the Corellian. As the other turned around to scold his alien, Luke reflected   
that if he hadn't learnt self-control, he would truly be at the man's throat now   
for being a stupid, happy-trigger bum who didn't think further than the tip of   
his nose. However, he knew better than to argue in the temporarily deserted   
corridors of an 'enemy' base... something that the Princess didn't seem to   
realize, he thought in annoyance as she and Solo got into a new verbal match.  
  
Kreth, he cursed inwardly, it was neither the time nor the place to have an   
argument. He could still pull the rescue off, but with those two bickering   
all the time, it would be a miracle if they reached the ship unscathed. The   
girl finally had the good sense to shut up and took the lead, but this   
time, Luke was ready.   
  
He discreetly nudged her in the right direction while the Corellian commented   
that no reward was worth her defiant attitude.   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
They finally reached the hangar bay, or at least, the level above it. Were he   
alone, Luke reflected seriously, he would just jump down the ledge and hide into   
the shadows of the crates under it, but with three non-Jedis in tow, and he   
himself supposed to be a green-horned farmboy without any field training of any   
kind, he conceded that it wouldn't be a good idea. Hence, he mentally pursed   
his lips at the waste of time and followed the others for a detour around the   
landing bay.   
  
Despite his and his father's work of keeping the troops away from them, they   
eventually met with some. Before he could react or dispatch them, Solo and the   
Wookiee tore off after them, surprising him with their brazenness. The Princess   
equally commented on this unexpected move.   
  
Surprised once again, this time at her sudden change of attitude, he sternly   
reminded her that he was their mean of transportation out of there, then took   
her hand and urged her on her way.   
  
Now that he was alone with her, he decided, he wasn't going to take any chances   
and directly reach the hangar bay; he would get her away from the base, he   
resolved.  
  
They were both running as fast as they could, or at least as much as he was   
supposed to since the princess wouldn't have kept up with his fastest speed,   
when they met up again with troops. This time, they were the ones to turn   
tails.   
  
Luke followed his instincts and led the princess toward the main chasm. Behind   
them a trooper gained too fast to his liking. He swiftly turned and caught him   
square in the chest. The princess ran ahead of him, having missed this   
extremely accurate shot.   
  
They ran up a slope--- and barely managed to stop before running into emptiness.   
  
Kreth, Luke swore inwardly, the bridge was retracted. Behind them, the troops   
caught up with them. Luke whirled around and fired, swiftly killing two other   
troopers by the time the princess had closed the door.   
  
"There's no lock!" she frantically told him.  
  
Luke fired at the lock; now, it was locked, he thought briefly while he studied   
this new situation. The Force had guided him here, he reminded himself.   
Surely, it couldn't be to lead him into a dead end.   
  
"We have to get across. Find the controls that extend the bridge!" the Princess   
told him demandingly.  
  
Luke felt the intense desire to tell her to stop ordering him around, but   
instead, he answered something about having just blasted it; she was desperate   
now and shut up as she frantically looked around themselves. Meanwhile, Luke   
spied the tubes around the chasm, then he remembered that standard equipment on   
a trooper's belt was a loop of sturdy rope and grappling hook, in case it proved   
useful to capture a prisoner. He had barely begun to pull it free from its   
pouch when fireblaster exploded around him and his charge.   
  
He immediately fired and nailed the trooper, then hid against the wall; the   
princess was right behind him. He deliberately fouled his aim a few times,   
until he fell another man, then he gave her the blaster and decided that he   
'had' to get them out before the others had figured how to open a locked door.   
  
If he were the hunter, he reflected seriously, he would already be through it.  
He uncoiled the rope, then threw it and nudged the hook toward and around the   
tubes. To the princess, it looked like a very lucky throw. Luke hurried to   
wrap the rope around himself so that he wouldn't loose his grip, then told the   
princess to grab hold of him. She kissed his cheek; he threw her a questioning   
look.  
  
"For luck!" she said seriously, then hung onto him.  
  
Luke gathered his strength and they were off the platform. He lightly shielded   
them while they were airborn, then they were safe on the other side. The   
Princess continued to fire at the troopers, who had finally opened the door,   
while he himself got rid of his rope and told his father that he could take care   
of Kenobi. They were less than five minutes away from the ship now.  
  
  
  
And five minutes alter, they indeed reached the main hangar bay without any   
other incidents. Solo and his alien were also there, waiting at the entrance   
of the hangar. While Solo studied the situation to find a hole in the efficient   
trooper net around his ship, Luke felt that they would soon get all the   
distraction they needed to make their escape believable.  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
After having received his son's all clear signal, Vader had made his way to the   
corridor near the main hangar bay, guided to this specific one by the Force. He   
'knew' that Kenobi would soon show up, returning from his self-assigned mission   
in the controls of the tractor beam. In a way, he conceded, it was a good thing   
for his son that the old Jedi had been there to do so; otherwise, it would have   
been very tricky for Luke to both rescue the princess and turn off the tractor   
beam although, he conceded, he could have convinced his droid that it could be   
turned off by him, then he himself would have temporarily shut it down.   
  
Still, Kenobi's involvement made it even more plausible, he conceded, and, he   
added with a mean smirk, they hadn't risked his untimely demise at the 'hand' of   
a dianoga instead of his own hand.   
  
Ever since his son had been brought aboard, he had monitored his progress, ready   
to intervene at a moment's notice. Unlike his son's regular missions, this one   
was a joint enterprise, hence, their master didn't mind his helping him. Luke's   
role was to infiltrate the rebels via the rescue of Princess Leia; his own role,   
for the moment, was to make sure that the uninformed imperial elements didn't   
ruin it for him. Hence, he had followed the developments, and had barely   
restrained himself from going to Luke's help when he had felt his predicament   
with the hungry, deadly creature, but just like Luke had survived countless   
attacks, he survived that one too.   
  
And now, he thought more grimly, he was waiting for him to distract the troops   
and set up their 'grand' escape. Well, he wouldn't have to wait for much   
longer, he smiled as he felt the approaching presence of his arch enemy.  
  
At first, Kenobi didn't seem to notice his presence, then he slowed down his   
pace; Vader advanced toward him until he was at dueling distance. His   
lightsaber, which had been turned on for a while now, was more than ready for   
this most awaited fight. Now, he would avenge both himself and his son, he   
thought with all his desire for revenge.   
"I have been waiting for you, Obi-Wan." he commented in dark satisfaction. "The   
circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but a learner. Now I am the   
master and it is time to pay for your crimes."  
  
He viciously attacked the old man who had, by then, also ignited his weapon.   
  
"The only crime I committed is trying to save you, Anakin," the other   
countered seriously, then their weapons clashed together.  
  
"Your most cruel crime was hiding my son from me," Vader answered angrily,   
shifting his stance to take another vicious slash at the aging man. "Because of   
you," he continued vehemently, "he's been through abandonment and slavery. I   
never thought that you'd be cruel enough to wish this to anybody after what we   
shared together," he snarled in disgust.  
  
Another vicious slash followed; the Jedi barely managed to block it while   
backing away and toward the nearby docking bay.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about, Darth," the old man defended himself.   
"What son?"   
  
Angered beyond belief at the fact that the Jedi would still try to hide the   
truth from him, Vader growled lowly and pounced once again on the Jedi, cutting   
right and left, and following with a deep slashed that challenged the aging man   
with the strength of his strikes; he felt the other's arms begin to quiver under   
the repeated impacts. He used his weakened state and secretly probed his mind   
for the location of the other remaining Jedi... Yoda.  
  
Despite his shield however, the Jedi felt him, even gave him the answer he   
wanted, then commented: "You cannot defeat the Light, Vader. There will always   
be a last hope," he added in his maddening calm voice.  
  
Vader attacked again, this time in frustration; he continued to herd his enemy   
toward the hangar. "Perhaps you are referring to the boy you brought here with   
you? My son...," he offered tauntingly, darkly, then switched to Force talk as   
they came into view of the hangar bay. *Oh yes, I know about his true identity,   
Jedi,* he snarled at the shocked old man. *I have known it since I found him in   
a slave market,* he finished with an hateful snarl, then used the faltering in   
the Jedi's defense to finish it.  
  
*Kill him, Father!* his son sent him, desperately wishing that he could be the   
one wielding his lightsaber instead of being forced to watch their enemy's   
death.   
  
Vader didn't delay his actions anymore; even as the Jedi felt the boy's contact   
with him, hence the truth about Luke Skywalker, his life came to an abrupt end.  
  
At last, Vader sighed even as Luke's senses seemed to drain themselves of the   
anger he had just felt---- then he felt him refocus on his play of innocent   
farmboy.  
  
"NOOOOOOOO!" he screamed as convincingly and heart-wrenchingly as he could   
managed considering his still existing hatred for the Jedi.  
  
  
  
  
  
When the troopers suddenly abandoned their posts, Solo motioned them to run for   
the Falcon. Luke was the first one through, and the first one to spot the   
duel.   
  
*Kill him, Father.* he sent to his father while gaping in supposed horror.   
  
Kenobi felt him this time, as he had meant him to; his father used his momentous   
shock to strike him down.   
  
Now, he thought even as he forced himself to not react to his and his father's   
private, blissful victory, it was his ultimate scene to convince the princess of   
his trustworthiness.   
  
"NOOOO!!" he yelled in outrage, then fired, letting loose his talents and deadly   
skills. He cut down trooper after trooper, ignoring the princess desperate   
pleas for him to follow them, then, at Solo's unnecessary advice, managed to   
shut the door down with another shot. He let loose another couple of bolts   
after that, just for good measures, then followed them inside.  
  
Part one of his mission was complete.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Once in the lounge, he dropped his blaster on a couch and sat down hard beside   
it. That had been a tough day, he sighed wearily. While he had relished the   
sweet moment of the Jedi's death, he wished that he could've killed him himself.   
  
Every one of his touch, word or look had made him sick to the heart and longing   
for nothing more than to torment the old man. He had deserved that much, he   
reflected; after all, he himself had been through too much pain to consider   
because of his secret identity, of his being raised in the disgusting Light at   
first... because of him, he snarled in ange--- Gentle hands suddenly appeared on   
his shoulders. He looked up in surprise; the princess smiled down at him as she   
sat beside him.   
  
At first, he wondered what it meant, then he almost laughed when he became aware   
that he looked as if he were mourning the old man.  
  
"I can't believe he's gone," he commented mock-sadly, but it was true, he   
conceded to himself. He couldn't believe that the old wizard was finally dead   
and dealt with.  
  
"There wasn't anything you could've done," the girl tried to comfort him.  
  
While he pretended to grieve some more, Luke wondered if she knew how right she   
was since he couldn't have killed him without blowing his cover. Before he   
could think further however, Solo came running down the corridor.   
  
"We're not out of it yet," he informed them briefly, indicating the lateral   
ladder.   
  
Luke immediately understood that patrols were sent after them to make their   
escape believable. He stood up, climbed down the ladder and sat down in the   
quad gun. As he adjusted the controls, he tested the system to adapt his speed   
to it.   
  
If he were better than the experienced pilot, he reflected seriously, it would   
look suspicious. Thus, instead of relaxing, he cramped his arms until it was   
hard to follow the normally easy-to-track TIEs.   
  
Hence, it took him much more time than usually to deal with two poor little   
fighters. He left the two others to Solo. They destroyed the four of them,   
then vainly celebrated their escape. As he exchanged a high-five with Solo,   
young Vader reflected that the other didn't seem to realize that he could have   
had to deal with the whole base's squadrons.   
  
Now that would cut short his gloating, he slightly sneered in dark amusement.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
After their celebration, he volunteered to check on some minor damage in the   
left engine. He used that time alone to drop his role and rest for a short   
while. It was the first time that he had had to maintain his naive front for   
this long. Even on Tatooine, he hadn't had to keep it up for more than a few   
hours at most since he had mostly been alone in the desert. He conceded, that a   
full day was kind of hard on the system, as his trainer had told him. He also   
admitted that it was especially demanding for him to constantly acting like a   
naive fool.   
  
*But it was worth it, Son,* his father told him seriously. *The Princess trusts   
you now, and you haven't raised her normally suspicious alarms.*  
  
*Yes, I know,* he agreed. *They will find the homing beacon so won't suspect   
that I am leading you to them,* he then commented matter-of-factly.  
  
*That they won't,* his father mentally nodded. *As soon as you can find out if   
it's their only base, contact me. If it isn't, you'll have to take the Princess   
off the planet. Tarkin has had the Emperor's permission to blast the rebel   
planet into oblivion,* he finished with a barely hidden snarl of disgust.  
  
*Again?.. And what if they are on a populated world?* he asked in unwilling   
worry.   
  
He knew all too well that he wasn't allowed to care about his victims, their   
targets, and he was perfectly aware of what would happen if he continued on this   
line of thought, but a whole planet... Millions of beings with the push of a   
button...  
  
*The Emperor assured me that it would be the last time,* his father reassured   
him. *He isn't 'exactly' pleased with the useless demise of Alderaan but will   
condone Tarkin's decision if he is successful this time.*  
  
*I understand,* the youth answered, working double-time to rid himself of his   
unwelcome care. He couldn't think about the consequences of such actions, he   
reminded himself. He couldn't worry about the innocents. Only the completion   
of his mission would save them, he then understood.  
  
*I'll make sure he won't have to use it again, Father,* he assured his father.   
*The Rebellion won't exist for much longer.*  
  
*I know,* was his father's confident answer.  
  
When Luke felt that he was about to leave, he called out to him once again:   
*Father?*   
  
*Yes?*  
  
*Thanks for killing Kenobi,* he told him sincerely.   
  
*I wish I could've make it last longer and make it more painful,* his father   
commented in kind, *or even that I could have saved his life to let you kill   
him, but the Emperor had told me to not dawdle with him,* his father finished   
seriously.   
  
*At least he's dead now,* the young dark Jedi sighed in relief. *Could you pull   
the location of Yoda from him?* he then inquired grimly.   
  
*Yes. I will also deal with him as soon as we're done with the Rebels.*  
  
*This time, if I can, I'd like to be part of the mission,* Luke commented   
darkly, aware that Yoda had also played a role in both his father's and his own   
misery.  
  
*I know you do,* his father nodded mentally. *We'll have to wait and see.*   
  
*I understand. I have to go now,* he informed him as he felt a presence draw   
closer. Fortunately, the other went away and back toward the cockpit.  
  
*Be careful,* his father bid him farewell.  
  
*Always,* he smiled mentally at the disappearing contact, then he reset his   
shield, his naive attitude, and rejoined the others in the cockpit.   
  
Behind him, the left engine purred like never before.   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Luke came up in the cockpit area just in time to hear the Princess and Solo   
bicker yet again. The Princess suddenly stood up from the pilot seat--- and   
addressed him, surprising him.   
  
"Your friend is quite a mercenary," she commented sarcastically. "I wonder if he   
cares about anything, or anybody."  
  
He watched her leave, briefly pondering how he should answer to this, then the   
perfect answer came to him.   
  
"I care," he told her mock-earnestly, although he also cursed himself for the   
fact that it was partly true.  
  
He 'did' care about the others... and it was his weakness, his one   
characteristic that put him at cross wires with his master.  
  
Back in his role, he shrugged at her lack of answer, then headed forth once   
again toward the waiting pilot seat. With nothing else to do, he had decided to   
watch the stars for a while; their sight always helped him to relax. He dropped   
lightly in the seat, then turned toward the pilot.   
  
"So, what do you think of her, Han?" he queried like a fool for lack of   
anything else to cover his tiredness.  
  
"I'm trying not to, Kid," the other slurred.  
  
Luke smiled thinly. "Good."   
  
Yes, very good indeed. If he could remain close to the rebel leader, without   
having to worry about any unwanted attention from others, it would make his job   
much easier.   
  
"Still, she's got some spirit," the smuggler added playfully. "Hey, do you   
think a princess and a guy like me?.."  
  
"No," Luke replied very truthfully, once again dropping all pretense to answer   
the irritating pilot.   
  
Whatever Leia Organa was, he reflected seriously, she certainly fit the   
description of the bratty royalty members who never stooped to anything lower   
than their status... except in extraordinary circumstances, like perhaps a   
Rebellion.   
  
The smuggler chuckled at his supposedly jealous reaction. Luke leaned back in   
the seat and fastened his gaze on the shifting pattern of hyperspace flight,   
forgetting the nearby man. He had to give credits to the woman, he admitted:   
she had spunk. He had followed her progress very closely for a long while, both   
from the official and unofficial channels, and had resumed doing so with the   
news, but he had never expected her to be the way she had acted aboard the Death   
Star. However, he still knew her enough to know exactly how to behave to both   
hook up with her and even get her attention.  
  
Not that he wanted more than that though, he thought seriously. She was still a   
rebel leader, merely a tool for him to serve his master; she certainly didn't   
endanger his love for his girlfriend in any way. However, he decided that he   
wouldn't keep her away if she chose to orbit around him. For one thing, he   
thought more lightly, it would give him an opportunity to observe her from a   
closer point of view, but not too close either, he instantly warned himself. No   
matter what would happen while with the Rebs, the end would still be the same   
for her and her allies: death..., and he didn't want to 'care' for her and anger   
his master again---  
  
He suddenly felt a wave of pain come through the Force. He blinked, carefully   
scanned the ship and found the origin of the wave.   
  
The Princess.  
  
As if growing tired of the vista outside, he silently stood up, walked toward   
the lounge and pretended to be shocked by the sight of the white-clad woman who   
was trying to hide her pain despite her bent-over position.  
  
"Princess!" he rushed to her side. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Can you keep a secret?" she asked him, out of breath.  
  
"You can trust me," he reassured her earnestly.  
  
"Help me to a cabin, please."  
  
Luke was already supporting her small frame toward the medquarters. He helped   
her sit on the bunk, then locked the door. When he turned around, he noticed   
that she was holding her arm.   
  
"Let me take a look at this," he gently offered her.  
  
"No," she shook her head even as she bit her lower lip. "First, you must give   
me your word that you won't talk about this to anybody."  
  
Luke cocked his head in surprise. The woman was strong, he decided, perhaps as   
strong as Mara was.  
  
"I give you my word," he promised.  
  
She winced as she pulled up her left sleeve. Luke gaped as he saw what had been   
hidden by her clothes. He instantly picked up the burns treatment from the kit   
that had been laying on a nearby table, then gently applied it to her skin.   
  
Was his father responsible for this?, he wondered in horror... Why hadn't he   
told him? They hadn't been supposed to---- then he stopped his once again   
caring reasoning.  
  
Fool 'Skywalker', of course his father had had to have her questioned. He had   
had to make it look as if he really meant serious business with the girl.   
However, he conceded, he had never thought that they would use the physical   
aspect of questioning on her. He had thought that the mental tools would have   
done the job all the same---  
  
She winced under his touch.  
  
"Sorry." He gentled his touch some more. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"  
  
At first, the princess didn't want to tell him, but with a subtle prodding, she   
relented and told him. He helped her out of her gown. Underneath, he   
discovered that she was wearing a thick, white chest-brace and white trousers   
that had disappeared under her flowing robes. He thus realized that the   
princess was much more a fighter than he had thought.   
  
As if he needed one more proof about this, the girl picked the pack of   
painkillers that was in the kit and swallowed them dry. She then leaned harder   
against the bunk as Luke treated her other marks. Even though he was a dark   
Jedi, he admitted that there truly was one thing he couldn't stand, and it   
was torture.   
  
Except for his own torturer, who was dead now, he didn't want to see anybody go   
through it; he knew all too well how awful it was.  
  
In the princess' case, he promised himself that she wouldn't suffer anymore than   
necessary now. If possible, he would also ask his father to spare her this   
torment again.  
  
"Did they take your clothes off to do that?.." he asked in a small, tight voice.  
  
"No, ---ouch!" she winced.  
  
"Sorry. I wish I had arrived sooner. Who knows, perhaps I would've even killed   
your torturer," he told her mock-earnestly.  
  
"That's nice, Luke, but Vader is hard to kill..." she sighed tiredly.  
  
"Vader?" he gasped in shock. "He did that to you? How could he---"  
  
His father had really done this to her? he pondered her words. True, he knew   
that his father was a cool, efficient servant when he was in missions; he knew   
that the consideration he showed to him didn't extend to 'anybody' else, except   
perhaps innocents, but, he admitted to himself, he had never, ever really   
imagined his father as leading the questioning sessions as 'the' torturer.   
Somehow, he conceded to himself, he had 'naively' thought that he gave the   
orders but left the work to other officers. However, he admitted glumly, he   
himself should have known better than that----  
  
The princess turned slightly around to meet his eyes; Luke hurried to cover his   
thoughts even as he studied her in return. She was exhausted, he noticed.   
  
"I don't think he bothers about such things," she almost whispered, referring to   
her own torture, Luke reminded himself, not his.   
  
That wasn't true, he wanted to tell her, but instead, he softened his eyes and   
adopted a friendly expression.  
  
"Well, I do. As long as I'll live, Princess, he won't hurt you again. I give   
you my word," he promised her sincerely.  
  
The princess seemed to notice that he really meant what he was saying.   
She took his hand in hers. "Thank you, Luke. Thank you for being brave enough   
to rescue a perfect stranger from the entrails of this life-sucking monster,"   
she told him in gratitude.  
  
Well not completely a stranger, he thought to himself, but instead, began to   
tell her about his 'past' story.  
  
"Oh, well, I had seen your holo back on Tatooine, so when we found you, I had to   
do something," he mumbled as he conjured up a blush on his features. "I know I   
screwed up but---"  
  
The Princess's light hand touched his shoulder.   
  
"I owe you my life, Luke. Thank you," she repeated in genuine kindness.  
  
He smiled shyly. "You're welcome."  
  
The princess gazed a little longer at him, then she turned back to her previous   
position to let him finish his tending. While he did so, Luke dimly reflected   
that he should think about picking up an actor career once he would be done with   
this mission.  
  
He had almost convinced even himself with this last play.  
  
  
  
  
Once he had finished to tend the princess, he suggested to her to get some   
Sleep, then stayed by her side until she was asleep. Once she was unaware, he   
lightly healed her with the Force before taking away some of the memories of her   
torment.   
  
He knew that he would hear about it, but he couldn't help doing this for his   
target, no matter how it would soon end. While she 'was' a rebel, it was 'his'   
fault for dragging her into all this; otherwise, she would have continued her   
quiet errands of mercy.  
  
When he stepped out of the cabin, he found a quiet place to get some sleep   
himself. He had to stop pretending for a while.  
  
******  
  
TBC in part 14: Freedom Fighter  
  
Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)   
(Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean or beside the point stuff won't   
even be read.) 


	14. part 14: Freedom Fighter

Luke Vader Series  
Part 14: Freedom Fighter  
By SJ 03-03-00/12-12-00 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
________________  
  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
  
Naturally, everything coming straight from the movie, words or situations,   
belong even more than the rest to George Lucas. It is still only for fun,   
nothing else.  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving me some of your   
precious time, my friend :)  
  
  
  
__________________  
  
  
  
  
Luke Vader awoke to a gentle touch. He opened his eyes. At first, he thought   
that he was seeing his girlfriend's fuzzy form, then the colors became clearer   
and he realized that it was the rebel leader. He snapped back into his role.   
  
"Leia? What is it?" he inquired worriedly.  
  
"We're almost there. Tough day?" she smiled kindly.  
  
"You have no idea," he smirked as he stretched himself on the narrow bunk.   
  
"Well I have an idea of at least half of it," she answered gently.  
  
"Right," he admitted grudgingly.  
  
He sat up, then stood up and they both headed for the cockpit.   
  
Luke Vader had never been to Yavin, but he knew that deep under the clouds,   
there were manufactures of corusca gems, all under his master's control. He had   
to admit that the planet looked gorgeous. Yavin 4 too for that matter. It had   
been a while since he had seen a jungle planet. It made for a nice change to   
see shades of green instead of grey, brown and black.   
  
Green 'and' blue planets were still his favorites though.  
  
  
  
Solo brought the ship down by a huge temple. There a reception committee came   
out of the main entrance to meet with them. Luke followed silently, tagging   
close to the princess while keeping his distances. They quickly met with a   
general and commander who welcomed her, then she introduced the rest of her   
group. Luke managed to call up a blush of shyness and humility when she   
mentioned his 'heroics'.   
  
While they turned their attention to the little droid who was supposedly   
carrying the Death Star's plans, Luke reached out and lightly probed the minds   
of the people who were in the command center; he estimated that they were far   
enough not to suspect anything if they felt something strange in their minds.  
  
In the end, they didn't even realize that they were being spied on... and as his   
father had surmised, this wasn't the only base. He had caught the location of a   
few others but he had also discovered that the rebels didn't trust their own   
soldiers; normally, they didn't know about them at all.   
  
Even if they did though, it meant that he had to take the Princess away from the   
planet, but even as he began to plan how he would manage this, the princess and   
the general began to talk about their last stance and how they would stay on   
planet to not betray their other bases if they were caught.  
  
Just great, Luke cursed inwardly as he understood what it meant for him: the   
rebels had to somehow stop the Death Star to serve him in his continued mission.   
  
Kreth, he winced inwardly, the Emperor wouldn't be happy about this one; erasing   
the princess' specific memories of her torture would be nothing compared to what   
he now knew 'he' had to do...  
  
  
  
  
When Leia followed the officers toward a control room, Luke excused himself to   
take a look at the fighters. She already knew that he 'was' fascinated by   
piloting; she encouraged him to ask as many questions about them as he wanted.   
While he looked at the assembled birds however, he contacted his father.   
  
*It isn't the only base,* he informed him without delay.  
  
*How long do you need to evacuate the Princess and a few others?* his father   
asked him coolly.   
  
*Actually,* Luke began hesitatingly, *this plan won't work, Father.*  
  
*What do you mean?* the older man inquired in sudden wariness.  
  
*They are preparing a last stand,* he told him grimly. *They will destroy the   
Death Star... or die here.*  
  
For a moment, his father remained silent, grimly pondering this last bit of   
information and seething at the implications for their plans.   
  
*The plans aren't accurate, Luke. The flaw they will find, doesn't exist on the   
true the Death Star,* he finally reminded him seriously.  
  
*I know... That's why you'll have to modify it before they launch their   
attack,* he told him very seriously.  
  
*What for?* his father asked him, puzzled now. *You have already acquired the   
locations of a few bases,* he argued. *You can leave the planet, go to those   
other bases and join the pilots there.*  
  
Luke mentally shook his head. *It won't work,* he commented grimly. *The   
location of the bases are normally kept secret from one another. It is   
different here because it is their main base at the moment and the commanding   
officers are gathered here for the final battle. What remains off of   
Yavin won't represent any threat to us for a while---*  
  
*One more reason to finish it here,* his father interrupted his burgeoning plan.  
  
*Until they return, in greater number, and with more resources,* the young dark   
Jedi finished seriously. *I can't fail, Father,* he then argued defiantly. *I   
will do whatever I have to do to destroy the Rebellion in as little a time as   
possible,* he then commented with finality. *and I will accept the consequences   
of what I have to do to be successful,* he finished more humbly.  
  
A silence answered him, as if, he reflected dimly, his father didn't know what   
his change of plan was.  
  
*The rebs have to destroy the Death Star,* Luke stated grimly after a while and   
braced himself for a very bad reaction.  
  
*Are you mad?!* his father exploded. *Do you know how long the Emperor has been   
expecting this little project of his to come to reality?*  
  
Luke steeled himself against whatever was coming through their link.  
  
*Think about it, Father,* he tried to reason him, *they're preparing a last-  
stand operation.* he told him seriously. *The only way for them to survive is   
if they manage to destroy the base. The fools just won't evacuate, and   
especially not the princess She's more a rebel leader than we ever estimated.*   
  
*Cursed rebels,* the dark lord grumbled, then calmed down. *There is still a   
problem however,* he finally told him, more coolly. *Nobody can do what I   
engineered in the plan,* he reminded him seriously.  
  
*I can,* Luke assured him.  
  
Another silence answered him, this time one of horror and disbelief.  
  
*You do realize that it means destroying the master's latest project,* his   
father inquired seriously, subtly reminding him what the consequences would be.  
  
*Yes,* Luke sighed in resignation, *and as I said, I'll meet whatever   
consequences this will have, but for the moment, we don't have any other option.   
They can't plan disabling it, right?* he asked although he already knew the   
answer to his question.  
  
*No,* the older Vader sighed in resignation. *You're right.* his father   
admitted heavily, then spoke coolly. *I will begin the evacuation of the   
officers and higher ranks. We don't have any choice but to kill a few hundred   
thousands troops though.*  
  
*I know, but it's war.* Luke conceded sadly, himself perfectly aware of how many   
lives he had just condemned.  
  
*I will also warn the Emperor, I suggest you report to him as soon as possible,*   
he told him with a touch of anger in his voice.  
  
Anger for being trapped by the rebels?, the youth dimly wondered, Or for his own   
frustrating ease to destroy the Emperor's properties?  
  
*Tell him that I will submit to whatever punishment he sees fit, Father, but I   
will not fail him,* Luke reminded him adamantly.  
  
*I will try to make him see it this way, Son, but I can already foresee the size   
of his anger at you. Succeed to calm him down,* Vader sighed as he cut off   
their communication.  
  
*I will, Father.* Luke sent anyway.  
  
He then refocused on his surroundings. The x-wings and y-wings seemed primed   
for trouble.   
  
And trouble it would be, he thought grimly, trying hard to not consider what the   
Emperor would do to him for the destruction of his latest toy.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
Early the next day, the rebels held a briefing about their plan for the attack.   
While Luke had expected the Rebs to find the false flaw in the plans they had   
been provided with, he had slightly doubted that they would still want to try   
their shot given the impossibility of their chances.  
  
He realized that he had been absolutely wrong about them; they were as daredevil   
as they were irrational. However, their pilots seemed to have a little more   
common sense, he noted; with each new element revealed to them, their dismay   
grew until they openly doubted their abilities to fulfill this mission; Luke   
took mean pleasure by telling them that he could bull-eye womprats when he had   
'been' on Tatooine.   
  
Of course, he conceded, it wasn't exactly true since he hadn't had any leisure   
time to chase the winged rodents, but he had also chased and shot enough targets   
while aboard different fighters to know that it 'was' a possible shot... if the   
pilot had the Force, he smirked meanly, then cooled down at the thought that he   
'would' be this pilot... He 'would' destroy his master's latest pride...  
  
And in return, he thought in disgust, he would become a rebel hero; how ironic.   
  
As the pilots continued to discuss between themselves, the princess sought him   
with her eyes. He returned the look, conveying his naive confidence through his   
eyes. She seemed to be reassured by it.   
  
As he stood up to file out of the small room, Luke Vader briefly wondered if she   
would still be reassured to know that he could destroy the contraption because   
of who he truly was.   
  
Probably not, he decided grimly.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Luke was now all suited-up and ready for 'action'. He entered the hangar bay---   
and slowed his pace upon spotting Solo's figure as he packed his crates of   
metal.   
  
His payment, he surmised even as he debated with himself how he should react to   
this turn of events. That character was the typical pirate, the young Jedi   
reflected. Such lack of compassion for the rebel cause didn't surprise him, but   
what about 'Skywalker', he wondered coolly. Good-hearted, naive farmboy   
Skywalker...   
  
He stepped closer to him and tried to convince him to stay while making sure to   
not be too convincing either; he went for the righteous approach, and failed to   
reach the smuggler's compassion, if he had any, he conceded coldly.   
  
He turned his mock-vehement gaze away from Solo and the alien, satisfied that he   
had managed to look both righteous and pleading. Of course, he thought coolly,   
he had never had a 'chance' of changing the man since he was grit and egoism   
incarnated----  
  
"Hey, Luke?.." the other called, surprising him out of his cold analysis.  
  
The Jedi turned toward him, truly miffed and puzzled.   
  
"May the Force be with you," the pirate commented lamely, with a failed attempt   
of a friendly smile.  
  
Unsure as to how to answer to this strange, totally confusing behavior, Luke   
simply shrugged and turned away.   
  
Now what had that been about?, he wondered in incertitude. Would a tough guy   
like Solo fall for a naive, stupid kid like he was pretending to be? If he did,   
he decided, then he would prove himself to be even crazier than he had first   
surmised when he had met him. 'No one' of Solo's experience could possibly hold   
any kind of respect or interest for the fool he 'was' at the moment, could he?  
  
As he approached his x-wing, Luke saw the white-clad form of the princess.   
However, he amended his thoughts, even a woman with the Princess's stature   
could. In her case though, it was okay, he smiled grimly inwardly.   
  
"What's wrong?" she asked him.  
  
Uh?, he startled slightly, wondering what she meant---- then remembered his   
thoughtful attitude.  
  
"Oh, it's Han," he explained in his best naive interpretation. "I don't know,   
I really thought he'd change his mind." he commented mechanically.   
  
While he dimly reflected that it was now very easy for him to conjure up   
something Skywalker-like, the Princess tried to comfort him by telling him that   
Solo had to go his own way.  
  
Oh that he had, all right, Luke Vader agreed with her. And the furthest from   
him, the happier he would be... The man was too full of surprises to be kept   
around during a mission as tricky as his current operation was. And, he   
reminded himself, considering the actual developments and what he had to do, he   
didn't need 'any' other trouble to upset his master further. As he gazed once   
again in her eyes, he saw that she could feel that something was still worrying   
him.   
  
'Yeah, that stupid attack of yours which is going to make my master angrier than   
ever!' he wanted to shout in frustration.  
  
Instead though, he avoided her eyes and breathed: "I only wish Ben were here."  
  
So that he could vent some more on him, he admitted inwardly.  
  
With a rush of what felt like unusual compassion, Leia leaned closer and   
delicately kissed him on the cheek. It was the second time in less than two   
days, he noted while he tried to not gape too hard at her. Was he conquering   
her heart as well as her cause?.., he suddenly wondered. Jade wouldn't like   
that..., he mentally shook his head at himself in warning.  
  
"I have to go," he told her as gently as he could.  
  
"Of course. May the Force be With You."  
  
He watched her leave, pondering his next course of action after the battle, then   
ran up his ladder and settled in his seat; the little Artoo droid was already   
behind him in its socket.   
  
'A real sucker, that little one,' Luke thought as he put on his helmet, but one   
element he now knew how to play to his advantage. It was extremely gullible for   
a machine, hence, he certainly didn't want the rebs to give him another   
astromech for this battle.  
  
The moment he was in his ship, things seemed to increase in speed.   
He reluctantly followed the orders of the squadron leaders until he was above   
the Death Star, then prepared to meet with the first real opposition.  
  
The huge turbolasers had been too easy to elude, he pouted in disappointment;   
the Tie Fighters would be more challenging, he smiled grimly. Of course, they   
would be no match for him, but still more interesting to face than base-pinned   
turbolasers.   
  
*But don't kill anymore of our troops than you have to, Son,* his father   
slightly admonished him as he contacted him.  
  
*Of course,* he replied even as he banked to the left to avoid a new volley of   
turbolaser fire. *What is the plan?* he asked him, aware that his father had   
spoken with their master and carried his direct orders.  
  
*The exhaust port has been opened,* he began grimly. *The Emperor is far from   
pleased, but agrees that there isn't any other way. However, he wants you to   
wait for the last remaining group before doing it. He wants to annihilate the   
rebel pilots with this attack,* he finished seriously.  
  
*I understand. And... once it is done?* Luke inquired uneasily.  
  
*He will await your report. Now that Kenobi is out of the way, you can report   
directly to him through the Force,* he reminded him.  
  
Even though his father didn't talk about what the Emperor had told him, Luke   
felt his fear for his well-being upon his return, but not for his life, he then   
understood. He tried to continue to appear strong throughout his contact with   
his father; a slight quiver of fear still escaped his control---- but before   
either of them could comment on it, Luke had to break away.  
  
The Ties were already upon them; he dodged, evaded, flipped and blasted his   
assailant out of the sky. However, after this first, swift kill, and helping a   
reb who was about to be shot nearby, he covered his astounding skills by   
pretending to have problems.   
  
A rebel named Wedge saved him, or so he thought anyway.  
  
Meanwhile, his father methodically decimated the squadrons who attempted to   
destroy the Death Star; while he did so however, he kept himself on a tight   
schedule for he was aware that the Death Star was slowly clearing Yavin to aim   
at the rebel base. Tarkin had purposefully been left unaware of the true plan,   
with the Emperor's consent due to the already spreading, negative rebounds of   
the destruction of Alderaan.  
  
A few minutes before the Death Star was clear to fire, Luke's squadron, then his   
wingmen were the last one left. The young dark Jedi led his unit straight to   
the right trench and floored it. They had no time to be cautious, whether he   
was an imperial or a rebel.   
  
His father's group came right on their tail, picking out the last of them. The   
pilot named Wedge Antilles somehow survived when his ship cleared the trench due   
to a malfunction; even Luke couldn't keep it from pulling out without ruining   
the cover he was working so hard to maintain with his upcoming near-betrayal.   
However, he promised himself, his turn would come.   
  
He refocused on the fast-approaching target; his father finished the other x-  
wing who was covering his read, then pretended to aim at him, taking potshots at   
his droid and invulnerable spots.  
  
Aware that now was the best moment to reveal his talents as a Jedi, Luke turned   
off his targeting computer, reached out and focused all his senses on the shot   
that was coming closer and closer---- then the unbelievable happened.   
  
Someone shot his father from behind; Luke whirled around at that.   
  
*Father!!!!* he shouted through the Force.  
  
His father's ship tumbled out of control, sent his remaining wingman straight   
into the wall before he himself was expulsed from it thanks to the impact---  
  
*I will be fine, Son,* he reassured him. *Do your job now. We will see each   
other soon.*  
  
"You're all clear now, Kid!" Solo encouraged joyfully. "Let's blow this thing   
and go home."   
  
Right, Luke muttered unhappily. Let's upset the master... He focused on his   
feelings, forced everything else out of his mind, even his growing fear of his   
master's punishment... and... now!  
  
There was no turning back; his torpedoes entered the shaft without exploding on   
the surface, then he felt them slide down all the way to the main reactor. By   
then, he had hastily pulled out before ramming into the dead end, then pulled   
away from the doomed base, his master's latest pride...   
  
Unlike the last prototype he had destroyed, he thought shamefully, this time,   
he had planned for it to happen, had had many tools at his disposal to avoid it   
if he had adapted better to the situation... Yeah, he admitted to himself, good   
servant or not, he was going to pay for this...  
  
Cursed rebels, he then swore mentally with all his hatred; if not for their   
folly, he himself wouldn't be on the brink of----  
  
The whole space around him suddenly lit up as if a thousand suns were shining at   
the same time even as thousands of minds cried out in sudden agony before they   
died... in betrayal... the worst crime any servant of the Empire could commit.  
  
And he had just done it in all conscience of his actions.  
  
"Great shot, Kid!" Solo exclaimed.  
  
Luke didn't pay attention to his last words. His thoughts went to the men he   
had just killed. The Rebellion would pay for all those unnecessary losses, he   
promised grimly. They had just turned him into a murderer even worse than Black   
Sun. Killing for his master was one thing, but coldly ending the lives of so   
many people at the same time...  
  
He would accept whatever punishment his master saw fit, he resolved as bravely   
as he could.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
By the time he and the surviving rebels brought their ships down inside the   
temple, he had recovered his composure and was ready to play his part of a   
naive, overexcited farmboy. He exchanged 'ecstatic' hugs with the Princess,   
Solo, and even his Wookiee.  
  
However, while the others congratulated him, he seethed inside. 'Celebrate all   
you want, Rebs... soon, you won't laugh anymore,' he growled in disgust.   
  
Later that day, the fools were still so convinced that they had just struck a   
major blow to the invincible Empire that they even organized a pointless medal   
ceremony to honor their 'heroes'. Luke went along with the stupidity,   
contenting himself by smiling foolishly and listening to Han's accounting of why   
he had turned around to save him.   
  
That, he reflected as he finally managed to escape the disgusting revelry of the   
'celebration' party, had to be the worst surprise of the day. Solo, whom he had   
finally classified as a mercenary and selfish man... had turned about on his way   
to settle his debts to save both the irritating youth he had pulled from   
Tatooine and the beautiful princess he had wanted to kill aboard the Death   
Star...  
  
Either he was loosing his ability to read people the right way, he scolded   
himself, or else Solo hid his true self so deep that even the pilot hadn't known   
about it till today.  
  
Either way though, he pouted in annoyance, it meant potential trouble for him.  
  
He finally reached the room that had been assigned to him and closed the door   
before snatching the offending 'medal' from around his neck; he carelessly   
tossed it in the shelves of the sole desk of the room. The 'medals', he   
sneered, weren't official anywhere, were certainly not approved by his master,   
and, he added with a disgusted pout, they were not made of gold; in short, they   
were worthless.  
  
Tired by his second day as a rebel, he leaned back on his bed, openly grumbled   
that it was even worse than the cot he had as an imperial slave, then laced his   
fingers behind his head and considered the events of the day.  
  
One, he had become a rebel hero.  
  
Two, he had angered his master, he added more uneasily. At this thought, he   
checked his chrono and established that it was too early to contact him right   
away; he decided to contact him in a few hours, around midday on Coruscant.  
  
Three, he continued his inner report, he had definitely created a bond with   
Organa. After the makeshift celebration, he had noticed that she had remained   
quite close to him during the party, and he had even surprised her throwing him   
'my hero' looks. While he didn't particularly care about the implications of   
such actions toward him, he sighed in satisfaction; this part of his mission was   
complete.  
  
Four, he continued... and frowned: Solo was a wild card he would have to   
consider carefully from now on. Who would have ever thought that the selfish   
smuggler would come back to save the rebs?.., he snickered in disbelief.   
Certainly not the said man, he thought meanly, then stopped as an unconscious   
memory of the party came back to him. While the Princess had been looking at   
'him', Solo had been gazing at---- Just great, he growled, upset. The pilot   
now displayed signs that he was attracted to the princess, meaning that he would   
probably remain with the rebels for a while... and very possibly around himself   
since he himself would undoubtedly orbit the young woman.  
  
He would have to monitor him very closely indeed, he snorted in frustration,   
then closed his eyes and tried to rest while not falling asleep. He didn't want   
to miss the time when it would be appropriate to contact his master; he didn't   
want to upset him anymore than he already was.  
  
While he let the minutes slip by him however, he admitted that even though the   
destruction of the planet killer had angered the Emperor, he himself was glad   
that the contraption didn't exist anymore, and that Tarkin had died with it in   
the same fashion than his latest victims had. Considering his fate, he   
suspected that such project wouldn't come to reality ever again, and that, he   
thought as coolly as he could, was something he was proud of. However, he   
hurried to rid himself of that feeling because of its origin... in his weakness   
and what greatly upset his master...  
  
  
  
  
An hour later, Luke was still waiting for the hours to run by before contacting   
the Emperor when his door opened slightly.   
  
"Luke?" Organa's voice whispered hesitantly.   
  
"Leia?" he gaped in surprise even as he sat up to cover his reflexive frown.   
"Why aren't you in bed, Princess?" he inquired mock-sollicitously.  
  
"I couldn't sleep," she shook her head slightly while she stepped in the still-  
lit room. "And you?"  
  
For a moment, Luke debated how to react to this, then settled for naivete: he   
smiled ruefully. "I couldn't sleep either; too much on my mind," he explained.  
  
"Me too," she nodded, although more sadly than he himself did. "Do you mind if   
I sit for a short while with you?" she asked uncertainly.  
  
"Mmmno," he hesitantly answered her, quickly pondering if keeping her nearby was   
a good idea tonight. He did need his break from acting... However, the moment   
he gazed in her eyes, he understood that here was his best chance to forge a   
strong bond with her. "Is something troubling you?" he queried as worriedly as   
he could managed.  
  
The petite woman didn't answer him; she silently sat on the other bed which had   
was belonged to a now dead pilot, then bowed her head even as she hunched her   
shoulders in her shawl. Luke, who had been following her with his eyes,   
couldn't help but gape at her near-metamorphose. Whereas less than two hours   
ago, she had looked like an invincible woman, at the moment, she looked like   
nothing more than a frightened child. He had always thought that he had   
known her, but, he realized, he had only glimpsed at the tip of the iceblock.   
She was much more complex than he had thought... and it fascinated him even more   
than before, he admitted, although he still couldn't say why she interested him   
in the first place, he then conceded.   
  
He had often angered his girlfriend with his inability to explain it, but she   
now knew that he didn't love the senator, perhaps not even liked her. He   
was just... pulled through the Force to her, he slowly understood, like at this   
very moment, he thought seriously as he joined the princess on the other bed.  
  
There, in a most Skywalker-like fashion, he wrapped his arms around her small   
frame and offered her comfort; she gratefully leaned into his embrace, never   
even doubting the genuine quality of his friendly actions.   
  
"Do you think about them?" she asked him, cutting into his thoughts.  
  
"Who?" he asked, raising his eyebrows in confusion.  
  
"Your guardians," she whispered. "Do you miss them?"  
  
Belatedly, he remembered that he had changed his story from hired farm boy to   
surviving orphan once the old man had been out of the picture; he realized that   
the princess had bought it--- then he suddenly understood that this was what had   
drawn the princess to him.   
  
Not only had he saved her life, but he had also lost his 'family', like her; for   
her, they were going through very similar feelings at the moment.  
  
"I haven't had much time to think about it..." he finally managed, straining   
with his throat to simulate a catch in his voice.  
  
"Me either... but now..." she began, her breaking voice betraying her attempt to   
restrain herself from sobbing.  
  
"What?.." he prompted her, both like the spy he was, but also because he truly   
wanted to make her talk, to make her face her feelings.   
  
After all, he reassured himself about his weak care, he needed her to live   
another day ; he couldn't let her feelings pull her down in the dumps.  
  
"I can't stop seeing them, Luke..." she whispered. "It's as if I can hear their   
last scream," she sobbed, then buried her face against his shoulder.   
  
Not exactly sure as to how to react to this admission, especially since he   
himself 'knew' exactly what their last scream had been like, Luke remained   
silent. However, drew her tighter against himself and gently rubbed her back.   
  
"Who wouldn't... Leia..." he finally inquired gently, feeling ill-at-ease with   
this aspect of his role, yet aware that he could act so without thinking if he   
stopped worrying about his master's lessons concerning his care. "You love   
them, and always will..." he said, finally allowing his weak heart to guide him   
into the touchy-feely moment.   
  
Thanks to his experience with slavery, he admitted that he could slightly   
understand how she felt. He too had dealt with nightmares and haunting thoughts   
after his personal trauma, but it probably didn't compare to what she was going   
through at the moment, he conceded grimly. He himself had merely lost his   
freedom and 'guardians', whereas the princess had lost her whole 'world'.   
  
With growing confidence, he trusted himself; he reassured and comforted her the   
way he himself had been yearning for when he had felt all alone in the   
vast universe. He reassuringly cooed at her, telling her that she couldn't have   
changed anything if she had been there. She answered him by crying against his   
chest, abandoning her tight self-control for the moment.  
  
"I know..." she sobbed in anguish, "but I brought the Death Star to them, I---"  
  
Luke gently shushed her with his index, frantically reflecting that he had to   
find a way out of this emotional moment; this was too much even for him. He   
just didn't know how to behave with this.   
  
"Just give yourself time to deal with their deaths, Leia..." he commented   
softly, gazing into her teary, nutty brown eyes. "Grieving is very normal in   
those circumstances," he added, referring to his numerous readings of psychology   
books. Those experts had better be right, he reflected grimly.  
  
The princess silently gazed at him; Luke delicately brushed her tears out of her   
eyes, like his father had done with him when he had been younger, he remembered.   
  
"Thank you, Luke..."  
  
He smiled shyly at her. "You're welcome," he lied.  
  
"Can I stay with you for a while?" she asked him.   
  
While Luke knew that it would be dangerous to have her while he would contact   
his master, he could also feel that he could only agree to her request.   
Something was guiding him in this direction.  
  
"Sure," he finally nodded gently.  
  
The young woman leaned back in the embrace of his strong arms and let the slow   
music of his heart lull her into a restive state.  
  
Luke for his part absently yet gently stroked her hair while he thought about   
how he would react the next times that such an occurrence would take place. He   
really hadn't thought about how he would react to the loss of his 'guardians',   
nor to such circumstances for that matter, he conceded. He could still remember   
the grief he had felt when he had been taken away from Owen and Beru Lars, but   
he wasn't that little boy anymore. He wasn't sad anymore... disappointed, angry   
and filled with a desire for revenge, yes, but sad... only when he cared, and   
he knew that he wasn't allowed to care about anybody but his lover and his   
father.  
  
On the other hand, he pondered, would the Emperor see it the same way if it were   
only for the duration of his mission? As part of his cover? He would have to   
ask his master about this, he decided while he settled in to wait out the rest   
of the time before he could contact him without waking him up.  
  
Meanwhile, the princess fell asleep in his arms.   
  
  
  
An hour later, the time came for him to contact his master. He focused his   
thoughts and searched for his master's presence. He easily found it and waited   
for acknowledgement.   
  
*Young Vader,* the older man finally grated coldly in his mind.  
  
Luke instantly felt how angry he was at the reports about the demise of the   
Death Star which had been assailing him since the beginning of the day.  
  
*Master,* the youth began even as he swallowed the lump of fear that was in his   
throat. *I am well into the heart of the Rebellion now,* he answered humbly,   
frightfully.   
  
*I do hope so, child, now that you destroyed my Death Star,* the other retorted,   
upset.  
  
*Please forgive me, Master,* Luke pleaded even as he sent his master an image of   
himself on his knee in front of him. *I tried to find another way to fulfill my   
mission, but it was the only way to keep my cover and be able to find the other   
bases,* he informed him truthfully even as he opened his mind to his master's   
scrutiny.  
  
The other didn't comment on this; he coldly invaded his memories and searched   
for a proof that his action could have been avoided. Fortunately for him, his   
master didn't find anything incriminating. He withdrew, leaving him with the   
beginning of a strong headache.  
  
*We didn't have any other choice,* Luke still surmised for his master.   
  
*It does seem so, young one, but I will still exact retributions from you   
for its destruction. Had you not used the princess, it would have been   
avoided,* he commented darkly.  
  
Luke mentally bowed his head in shame. *I know, Master. Forgive me.*  
  
*Perhaps,* the Emperor commented coldly. *If you manage to destroy the   
Rebellion within the next two weeks.*  
  
Luke knew that completing his mission within the next two weeks was impossible;   
he wouldn't manage to make it up to his master.  
  
He would pay for the defunct planet killer. It was the last straw in his   
history of wrecking his master's projects and belongings. But given the   
circumstances, he reminded himself, he truly hadn't had any other choice. That,   
he then reflected seriously, was probably the only thing that was saving his   
life at the moment, or what would save him from a life as his master's personal   
slave instead of Jedi servant.  
  
He refocused on his master who was still monitoring his thoughts; neither   
commented on his latest ones.  
  
*How close are you to Senator Organa at the moment?* his master inquired, some   
of his anger draining away from their connection as he refocused on the reason   
why he had committed such an abomination.  
  
Luke looked down at the woman who was asleep in his arms and smirked in dark   
satisfaction this time.  
  
*Much closer than I expected, Master. I am already her 'friend',* he informed   
him.  
  
Even as he felt his master bristle anew at the mention of the almost forbidden   
word, he also cooled down as he too understood that he was making the best out   
of the Death Star's destruction.  
  
*Make sure that it remains as it is,* the Emperor warned him darkly. *As long   
as one rebel will remain alive, you will not fulfill your mission. Make sure   
she is the last one to fall, with you.*  
  
*As you wish, Master,* Luke mentally bowed his head. He then felt his master   
prepare to cut their link just as a question came up in his mind. *Master?* he   
inquired, mentally crossing his fingers that his emperor would maintain their   
contact long enough for him to hear him.  
  
He didn't answer him in words, but his annoyance at the interruption came   
clearly through their maintained link.  
  
Gathering his courage to not upset him further, Luke bravely inquired: *How is   
Father?*.  
  
For a moment, it felt as if his master would go away without answering him, or   
would hurt him again for his obvious care and worry about his father.  
  
However, neither reactions came to be. *Lord Vader is aboard the Avenger,* was   
the short, cold answer. *He will come after the Rebels in a few days. You will   
escape him, along with your charge,* he ordered him strictly, then was gone.  
  
*Yes, Master,* Luke bowed his head nonetheless.  
  
Once again alone in his mind, he pondered his conversation with his dangerous   
master. As he had surmised, the older man would want revenge... and other than   
promising him much pain, he hadn't told him what it would be. He sighed in   
resignation.   
  
Up to now, he had only destroyed a few, replaceable projects, but this time, his   
daringness warranted a serious consequence, no matter if he had done it to serve   
him or not... He had wasted his master's resources once again, he reminded   
himself sternly. The base being able to destroy a planet or not... it had been   
his master's property, built with his money, housing his troops and resources...   
and he himself had just destroyed it as if it had been a 'toy'.   
  
Yes, he conceded glumly, he was in for a very rough time... and perhaps even   
more for his unfaithful thought regarding the now destroyed weapon, he admitted   
to himself.  
  
When the time would come to meet the consequences of the past day, he promised   
himself, he would stand tall and face whatever he deserved.  
  
He fell asleep on that thought.   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
The next morning, he awoke to brown eyes which were studying him intently.   
  
"Hi," he smiled, instantly assuming his Skywalker role.  
  
Had the princess seen anything wrong with him?, he immediately wondered.  
  
"Good morning," she returned in kind.   
  
"Is something troubling you?" he asked her, subtly fishing for information.   
  
"No, not really, but... Luke..." she began, obviously unsure to continue. "Can   
you give me your word that you won't talk about last night with anybody else.   
Not Solo, not the general, nobody?" she finished seriously.  
  
He considered her request. So the princess didn't want to appear as a weakling,   
he understood. Interesting, he smiled inwardly even as he also sighed inwardly.   
She hadn't pierced his cover while he had been asleep.  
  
"I promise," he finally nodded earnestly. "It'll be our secret," he added in a   
Skywalker-like way.  
  
She smiled at this and sat up beside him. "Thank you, my friend."  
  
"That's what friends are for, you know?" he offered, feeling more comfortable   
now that they were talking about a part of life he was familiar with.   
  
He new perfectly well what friendship was about. He and Mara had been friends   
for almost ten years now; despite their rigorous lives, they had shared many   
secrets when they had been younger, and once they had been allowed to be   
together.  
  
"Yes, I know." Leia nodded sleepily. "I have to go back to my rooms," she then   
commented softly as she slowly edged her way off the bunk.  
  
"I understand," Luke reassured her as naively as he could. "I'll see you   
later?" he then asked, not moving from his position against the wall.  
  
"Sure," she smiled gently, then gazed warmly at him for a short while before she   
stood up; her silky, with ceremonial gown fell off the narrow bunk to cover her   
small feet as she made her way toward his door.   
  
He waved at her one last time, then she left. Once alone, he slid down on his   
back on his bunk and pinched the bridge of his nose.   
  
Oh boy, this was much more complex than he had first thought it would be, he   
conceded seriously. Not only was he close to the princess, but she was also   
pulling surprises on him every time he spoke with her. He decided to thread   
very warily around the different players of his spying game.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
As the time pass however, he discovered that he truly was a very good actor.   
  
No matter the circumstances or the people he was speaking with, he managed to   
maintain his naive cover throughout the chaotic days that followed the   
destruction of the Death Star, then the more tensed-ones that ensued the fall of   
other bases.   
  
At first, Luke transmitted locations of bases that were not where he himself   
was, but the more bases fell, and the more he and his groups were implicated in   
the battles.   
  
TBC in part 15: Pressure  
  
  
  
  
Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)   
(Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff won't even be read.) 


	15. part 15: Pressure

Part 15: Pressure  
By SJ 03-03-00/12-12-00 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
  
________________  
  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Naturally, everything coming straight from the movie, words or situations,   
belong even more than the rest to George Lucas. It is still only for fun,   
nothing else.  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving me some of your   
precious time, my friend :)  
  
WARNING ABOUT THIS PART: IT DEALS WITH THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT OF TORTURE; YOU   
ARE WARNED ABOUT ITS DARKNESS.  
__________________  
  
  
  
Two months after the destruction of the Death Star, the Emperor decided to put   
more pressure on the rebels by posting an astounding bounty on Luke's head while   
it also became known that Vader was obsessed with finding him.   
  
As expected, the rebels began to search for spies when 'his' bases began to   
suffer from surprise attacks, but they never suspected the young Jedi of any   
such betrayal. To maintain his innocent reputation, Luke and his father managed   
to create situations that allowed him and his friends to slip through the   
imperial net while making the escape believable; a few other rebels and   
transports were also enabled to elude capture.  
  
However, it was always a tight fit and many more rebels didn't make it through.   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Four months and three weeks after Luke's first day with the rebels, his group   
went through yet another narrow escape, but this time was different for Luke;   
his father delivered a message from their master to him.   
  
A rather grim message.  
  
  
  
Luke met with the Falcon aboard one of the few frigates that had been allowed to   
follow him.  
  
He jumped down from his x-wing, reflecting that he would give just about   
anything to fly a TIE once in a while now, or even one of the ships he had flown   
in his missions with Mara. He 'knew' that they would outrun and outmaneuver   
without the slightest of problems that tin can that the traitors called a ship.   
He promised himself that as soon as he would be able to, he would go for a spin   
in a real ship.   
  
Putting an end to his rummaging, he headed toward the double-pronged ship.   
While he approached it, he admitted that it still amazed him that Solo was still   
with the Rebellion. However, he reflected wryly, one didn't need to be a Jedi   
to know why the smuggler was staying: no matter his excuse for money, Luke knew   
that he was staying for the Princess.  
  
The ramp of the ship lowered; the princess was the first one out of the ship;   
she practically threw herself in his arms.   
  
"Luke, you're safe!" she shrieked in delight. "When we saw the number of   
captured x-wings..." she began more seriously as she slightly pulled away from   
him.   
  
"I could say the same thing about you too, Leia," Luke answered, making sure   
that his kind, naive edge was permeating his voice. "If not for Han's skills,   
you wouldn't have made it. They really meant serious business this time," he   
added grimly.  
  
"They sure did, Kid," Solo agreed almost happily as he sauntered down the   
boarding ramp.  
  
Luke barely restrained himself from flashing him a dark glare at that, but he   
knew better than to ruin his perfect cover. However, he thought to himself,   
every single time Solo called him that, he wanted to strangle him with   
the Force. Someday, soon, he promised himself, he would put the arrogant   
Correllian in his place.   
  
His alien came up behind the man, then also hugged him in delight. Luke   
tolerated the disgusting contact as well as he could. It just infuriated him   
that the thing had adopted him as its cub or something similar, he fumed   
inwardly while pretending that the Wookiee's hugs were crushing his ribs.   
  
The alien finally let him go, Solo walked forward to clap his back in a friendly   
manner. While Luke returned the gesture, he kept a tight lock on his true   
feelings; he knew all too well that he couldn't show any of them, and especially   
not now that he would 'need' the rebels to come to his rescue...  
  
Pulling himself away from that grim line of thought, he pretended to be relieved   
to see them all safe. As the princess hugged him again, he reflected that he   
much preferred the woman's hug to any other's, and this, despite the fact   
that she was vastly responsible for his actual unpleasant situation with his   
master.  
  
If only she had left that cursed moon... he grumbled mentally as he considered   
his father's latest message.  
  
"General Rieekan has also made it," Leia told them, drawing him back to the here   
and now.   
  
"Good, then we still have a military leader with us," he answered reflexively.  
  
"Yes. He'll probably be calling a meeting soon," she nodded. "In fact, I'll   
check this out right away. Anybody's coming?" she offered.  
  
"I'll check the Falcon first," Solo declined.  
  
Solo's first love, Luke noted in clinical interest, would always be his ship.   
That would definitely prove to be useful against him, he then decided seriously.  
  
Leia turned toward him.   
  
"I'll get a shower first," he informed her instantly, happy to have found a way   
to be alone as soon as possible.   
  
"Okay. See you three later then," she waved as she left them.  
  
Luke didn't wait long before he disappeared inside the pilot's locker room.   
Since nobody was around to see his remaining scars, he didn't undress in the   
shower; he did it in the locker room.   
  
Once under the sonic shower however, he really considered what his father had   
told him during the battle. During his next mission off-base, he was going to   
capture him; they were going to make it look as if the dark lord wanted him,   
then would make sure that the rebels would be able to rescue him.  
  
While Luke shuddered despite himself at the implication of this capture, he   
sternly reminded himself that the goal of this intervention was to make the rebs   
more protective of him. Their master estimated that if the Empire demonstrated   
interest in the young Jedi, the rebs would make sure that they wouldn't get him.   
  
It would be their undoing, Luke knew.  
  
However, he admitted, he also knew that the operation would involve torture. It   
would also be, he estimated, a way for his master to avenge himself from the   
loss of his Death Star, or at least he hoped so because this wouldn't be a   
simulation like during his training.  
  
This time, he swallowed in slight fear, it would be for real...  
  
If it wouldn't be his complete avenging, he then thought more humbly, then he   
prayed for it to be at least the first part of his payback... He knew that his   
master was very grumpy when it came to losing something that was his, and Luke   
had to admit that he hadn't only stolen the Death Star either. He had made it   
totally impossible for his master to ever recover it... Yes, he thought glumly,   
he had truly overdone it this time, and no matter how much time had passed since   
that day, one punishment wouldn't be enough to make it up to his master.  
  
At least, he tried to comfort himself, he would a few days to prepare himself   
for the next step, but still, he conceded, this was something he didn't think he   
would ever be ready for.   
  
And with this, he decided to change topics of thoughts or else he might just   
drift into improper territory. He turned off the sonic shower, wrapped his sole   
towel around his hips, then walked out of the stall. He was still alone.  
  
He had put on his trousers and was combing his hair when the princess walked   
inside the room. She stopped in her tracks when she saw what his shirt had   
always hid from her eyes up to now.   
  
When he felt her reaction to his sight, Luke debated whether to make her forget   
what she had seen or not, then he reflected that a farm boy 'could' be as well   
muscled as an imperial agent. However, he belatedly understood that what was   
disturbing her were his strange marks on his shoulder blades. Kreth, he cursed,   
his lightsaber, unremovable scars...   
  
"Luke? What happened?" she asked him, walking closer.   
  
Even though he didn't turn to look at her, he could feel that she was horrified   
by his state.  
  
"A vibroblade," he lied, then hurriedly put on his shirt to hide the shameful   
marks of when he had still be a disobedient slave.  
  
The princess was now beside him; she locked her brown gaze with his blue one.  
  
"A vibroblade doesn't leave tracks like this, Luke," she rebuked him slightly,   
"not when---"  
  
"It's tended by a medic?" Luke offered. "It wasn't," he added shortly, then   
turned away from her. He had to find a way out of this, he thought furiously.   
She was already having doubts about his story--- then he remembered that he had   
told her that his guardians had been poor. Yes, he estimated, that would be a   
good excuse.   
  
"My guardians couldn't afford it," he muttered as if in remorse.  
  
"What?---" she gasped in horror, undoubtedly imagining him in an injured state   
without any medical help.  
  
"They didn't have enough money," he explained the rich woman. "Why?" he then   
inquired as he turned toward her. "Did you think that they would let me---"  
  
"No, of course not, Luke..." she reassured him, resting her hand on his left   
biceps. "I am just sorry for you."  
  
"Oh..., well, thanks..." he muttered sadly as he finished to button his shirt,   
then put on his jacket before fastening his belt around his waist. "What brings   
you in here, Leia?" he finally inquired, breaking in the silence that had spread   
between the two of them. "If I didn't know better---" he began to tease her   
meanly.  
  
She blushed a deep crimson. "You told me that you always changed in the   
Stall," she defended herself.  
  
"When I'm with others, to avoid questions about my scars, yes..." he conceded.  
  
"I understand..." She took a deep breath and was back to normal. "We   
intercepted a message. The bounty on your head has increased yet again," she   
informed him seriously.  
  
"Figures," he sighed as if in acceptance.   
  
"Yeah, unfortunately. The general says that we have to regroup and   
reorganize."  
  
"I know. Is he ready to meet us?" Luke queried matter-of-factly while inviting   
her to follow him out of the locker room.  
  
"Yes," she nodded as she accepted his invitation.   
  
They stepped out of the pilots' locker room. As they walked down the corridors,   
the princess gently nudged his left arm, attracting his attention back to her.  
  
"Say, I didn't know you were the kind of guy to get a tattoo," she smirked   
teasingly  
  
"Oh, that was just a youthful crazy thing. It's too late to undo it now," he   
answered as if in shame. "I don't even think about it anymore."  
  
"Uh-uh..." the young woman nodded, as if piecing together the puzzle that he was   
to her.   
  
Luke made a note to ascertain that she wouldn't succeed.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
  
About a week later, Luke accompanied Han on a smuggling mission, and, as per his   
master's order, guided his father to them. There, he let himself be captured,   
feeling for the first time in his life what a stun bolt did to the human body.  
  
It was most unpleasant.   
  
  
  
When he awoke, he was in a holding cell, strung up in the traditional bondage   
that was used during questioning. He was also wearing nothing but his trousers,   
then noticed that his locks had been welded.   
  
What the?--- he wondered in growing uneasiness, aware that he wouldn't be able   
to open them with the Force if---  
  
His door opened; his father's reassuring breath instantly invaded the small   
enclosure.  
  
"Wait here," the older man instructed a torturer and droid. "Perhaps I won't   
need you."   
  
Luke composed his face into a very defiant mask, then the door closed and they   
were alone; he dropped his role.  
  
"Father," he greeted him with all the relief he felt upon seeing him again.   
  
"I wish the circumstances of our temporary reunion would be otherwise, Son," his   
father answered in kind as he quickly covered the few meters that were   
separating them.   
  
His father didn't hug him, but he gently touched his face to express his feeling   
in a non-verbal fashion. Luke closed his eyes in bliss as he enjoyed the very   
few minutes he was granted to feel safe and at home once again.   
  
"I miss you so much, Father," he admitted, locking his eyes back on his   
father's.  
  
"So do I, Luke. I never expected this mission to take this long to accomplish."  
  
"Neither did I, but then, we didn't know exactly how many bases there were out   
there," he reminded him seriously.  
  
"Nor did we expect that you would anger the master with your strategies," the   
other added more grimly.  
  
Luke could only lower his head in regret at this.   
  
"I know, I'm sorry. Every day, I wish I could go back in time and do things   
otherwise," he admitted glumly.  
  
His father remained silent at this, his unchanging mask hiding his facial   
expressions, but not his feelings. Luke thus discovered that his father agreed   
with him.  
  
"I'm sorry about this, Son," he finally commented, dropping his hand from his   
face. "We once again don't have any other choice."  
  
"Don't worry, I knew that it was coming, sooner or later," he reassured him,   
trying to gather the strength he wasn't feeling. He was truly afraid, he   
admitted to himself.  
  
"How are you holding up these days?" his father inquired kindly, finding a way   
to delay what they both knew was unavoidable.  
  
Luke made a wry face at his question.   
  
"Well, I can't get that Wookiee stench off of me thanks to their sonic-only   
showers, and I'll be real glad to leave all that rebel scrap behind, but   
otherwise, I'm okay... but I miss Mara," he added as if afraid to reveal this to   
his father.  
  
His father set his hand on his shoulder in fatherly pride. "I know what you   
mean," he reassured him. "You are doing a marvelous job, Son. If not for you,   
we wouldn't have found all those bases. The Emperor is pleased, despite what he   
leads you to believe, and so am I," he told him seriously.  
  
"I must admit that I'm satisfied myself, Father," Luke answered in contentment.   
"The rebels are even worse than we thought. Their poison of 'freedom' spreads   
much faster in the galaxy than we estimated. Their very existence serves as a   
motive for different groups to try and defy us," he grumbled.   
  
"How many more bases do we have left?" his father asked, business-like once   
again.  
  
"Ten at the most, but we'll have to wait before coming down on them," Luke   
warned him, also slipping in his tactician role.  
  
"I agree. If we do it too fast, the entire purpose of this operation will be   
fooled," his father nodded. He then seemed to brace himself.   
  
Luke prepared himself for very bad news.  
  
"In two weeks, I will let out information about your whereabouts," he informed   
him grimly.  
  
"Two weeks?!" Luke gaped, pulling against his bonds despite himself.   
  
His father sighed in answer even as he slightly turned away from him; Luke knew   
that this wasn't easy for him, just as it wasn't easy for himself.   
  
"The Emperor's orders are strict I'm afraid," he finally commented. "I can't   
let you go before fifteen days, and must personally torment you while you're in   
my grasp. I'm sorry..." he finished sadly, a rare occurrence in his normally   
rather stoic father.  
  
While Luke tried to digest everything he had just been told, one element rose to   
the surface of his awareness: his father would be his tormentor. This, he   
reflected in uneasiness, hadn't happened between them for more than ten years,   
ever since he himself had accepted his fate in fact. Back then, he remembered,   
his then unbeknown father's action had totally scared him to death of the Dark   
Lord, and the 'actions' had only lasted a few minutes.   
  
Fifteen days, and more... with his father being once again responsible for his   
pain... Would it affect their relationship? Would he ever be his father once   
again, or would he become Vader for him too, the cold, cruel man his father was   
for almost everyone else in the galaxy? All of a sudden, he had a fierce desire   
to just rebel against this and convince his master to not involve his father in   
the----  
  
As if feeling his train of thoughts, his father turned once again toward him and   
gently held his chin in his two hands, making him meet his eyes.  
  
"No matter what I am forced to do, Luke," he told him softly, "my care for you   
will remain. You are my son, the sole remnant of your mother in my life. I   
love you and couldn't wish more ardently for this challenge to pass by us this   
time. Always remember this, please," he begged him earnestly.  
  
Luke was stricken by his father's revelation; while the older man had always   
admitted his care for him, and how much he didn't want to lose him, it was the   
first time that he had told him the nearly forbidden word.   
  
"It is a punishment for both of us, isn't it?" he asked him almost inaudibly.  
  
"I'm afraid so, and as you know, we can't... not go with it. The consequences   
would be even more dire."  
  
Luke sighed in resignation. Neither of them wanted the next two weeks to   
happen, but they had to obey their master. They owed him everything; they   
couldn't even think of not doing his bidding.  
  
"Yes, I know, Father......" he answered in a small voice. "Let's get to it and   
be done with it."  
  
"No matter what will happen, Son, remember that I love you." his father reminded   
him, caressing his untouched features like he used to do when he had been much   
younger.  
  
"And I love you, Father. I know this isn't your wish..."  
  
Lord Vader held his son's face a bit longer, then he seemed to close his eyes   
and reared his hand backward.  
  
  
  
  
  
Vader completely blocked out what he had already begun and initiated his cruel   
role.   
  
"Stubborn pest, you will join us," he snarled just as he opened the door with   
the Force; his subordinates and the probe droid came inside, then the door   
closed once again behind them.  
  
In front of him, his son glared at him, also playing his role as best as he   
could in their already cruel masquerade.   
  
"I will never join you," the 'rebel' spat convincingly.   
  
Then it began. Aware that he couldn't disappoint the Emperor, Vader tried to   
convince himself that the boy was a true rebel, not his son, but a rebel, an   
enemy... someone he could torment without killing himself over and over again   
with his guilt.  
  
However, the more his strategy 'worked' and the more he reflected that their   
actual masquerade was even worse than when he himself had had to pretend that   
his son was his slave.   
  
In order to share his son's torment for as long as it lasted, he always remained   
with him, keeping their Force-bond open.  
  
  
******  
  
  
Nearly ten days later, Vader suddenly ordered his subordinate to leave the   
'prisoner' alone, then also left him alone, but not before a quick mental check   
to make sure that he was all right.   
  
He wasn't. Even as he barely managed to establish contact with his now closed-  
up son, he realized that Luke would take a while to recover his cool demeanor   
toward him and his master... This latest challenge was taking a heavy toll on   
his psyche.   
  
*Hang on, Son, five days left now,* he sent him as positively as he could,   
hoping to get some encouraging reaction from him.  
  
Luke didn't answer him; he fell unconscious, like any other prisoner did when   
they were left alone.  
  
With this thought, it slowly dawned on the dark lord that his son was now   
reacting the same way than any other prisoner did, by holing up inside himself   
and holding onto himself for as long as he could manage, not even recognizing   
him as an ally anymore due to what he had already done to him.  
  
If that was what the Emperor had wanted to happen, he reflected angrily as he   
stormed out of his son's cell, then he had gotten his wish; his son was crushed.  
  
  
  
  
A few days later, both Vader and his son inadvertently discovered the youth's   
true strength: his psychological one. It truly amazed his father. He could   
recognize Padme's strength of character in his son, but also his own, making his   
boy one of the strongest willed individual he had ever encountered, except   
perhaps, he conceded, the rebel Princess. However, given his Jedi training,   
Luke was more resilient than she had been.  
  
Despite this grim/reassuring discovery, Vader leaked the information concerning   
his son's whereabouts two days before the fifteen days' limit. He knew that it   
would take the rebels at least two days to show up at his 'doorstep'.  
  
  
  
*****  
  
  
  
However, they didn't keep up their 'end' of the deal. The information had been   
leaked three days ago now, yet he hadn't received any report regarding rebel   
infiltrators. What was taking them so long? Vader raged.   
  
He leaked the information yet again, through different lines of intelligence,   
then he began to meditate in the Force to influence the events.   
  
They 'would' come for him soon, he promised himself.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
The sound of an alarm going off on his control console pulled him out of his   
day-long meditation.   
  
He activated the speaker.   
  
"What is it?" he inquired irritatingly.  
  
"My Lord, we just found the crew assigned to the detention block unconscious."   
the orderly told him as coolly as he could manage while talking to him.  
  
Vader immediately understood what it meant. At last! They were here!  
  
"Make sure the Jedi is secured," he ordered, then reached out and easily located   
the still unconscious presence of his son.  
  
He was now somewhere near the landing pad of the base. Even as he reached   
deeper in his mind to wake him up, he admitted to himself that he didn't like to   
awake him and cause him more pain, but he had to warn him of the change of   
situation lest he betrayed himself upon awakening.   
  
Apparently, he reflected in relief, Luke Skywalker had indeed wormed his way   
inside the rebels' hearts, but Luke Vader, in very bad shape, might just shatter   
this illusion. He himself had never witnessed his son's temper before, and, he   
thought sadly as he remembered the curses and insults that he had yelled over   
and over again during the past days, it wasn't a pretty sight.  
  
*Luke... Luke, wake up, but don't move,* he sent him as softly as he could so as   
to not jar him up in shock.  
  
He felt his son's senses slowly return.  
  
*The rebels have rescued you,* he told him without preamble. *The troops won't   
find you; you're back with them. Remember that all I 'wanted' was for you to   
join the Dark Side. Most of your reactions will be normal, but be careful about   
your dark anger...* he advised him, pointedly referring to the past week.  
  
He had never seen his son as furious nor hateful as he had been while being   
detained; had he not known him, Vader conceded, he might have been uneasy with   
him. His dark powers had somewhat reminded him of the Emperor's... and why he   
had bowed to the Dark Lord of the Sith, all those years ago.  
  
*Right, don't want to ruin it after all this,* Luke answered him sarcastically.   
*I'd hate to repeat it,* he then slurred.  
  
*So would I, Son,* he reassured him. *When you will be back on your feet, we   
will finish the Rebels and recover you. I swear you will never be tortured like   
this ever again,* he promised him, sending a feeling of care his way.  
  
It barely managed to brush his son's now closed-up mind.  
  
*The Emperor will hurt me again,* the youth answered him flatly.  
  
*The worst is over and done with,* his father assured him. *Just heal now and   
focus on your getting out of their world.*  
  
*I'll do that,* he commented, matter-of-factly then cut their contact.  
  
Vader sent his love to his son all the same, then cut the contact. He was very   
glad that this was over; this latest challenge had truly affected his son, much,   
much more than he had first thought it would considering all the other times   
that he had gotten punished by their master... He could only hope that he would   
recover his usual personality once he would be healed...   
  
Kreth, he suddenly swore, abandoning all pretense of rationality, that torture   
thing had killed them both. Yes, they had made a mistake with the Death Star,   
but had they deserved such vicious punishment? They had always served the   
Emperor right, had always done everything in accordance with his wishes.   
  
He himself had just crushed his son's soul, grounding him into tiny pieces which   
he could now only hope would manage to regain their former shape, and himself...  
  
Himself had also been crushed, he realized, when he had seen his boy's tears of   
distress... when he had begun to block him away from his mind... When their   
relationship had begun to falter.  
  
All that for their master's glory, he thought in slight, very private anger.  
  
In his senses, his son's presence flew away, having made the transition into   
hyperspace.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
It took Luke a long while to come back to his senses.   
  
When he did, he remained in an half-conscious state for a while longer, brooding   
about the events of the past weeks. Even though he had been trained to bear   
pain yet keep going, this latest experience had almost broken him... In a way,   
it even had, he admitted.   
  
He wasn't ready to serve his master just yet... nor would he want to speak with   
his father if he were nearby. However, he conceded, if not for his father's   
love, he would've broken up and betrayed himself.   
  
He knew that his father was still as caring and loving as before, he   
reflected sadly, that he had truly regretted every pain he had had to cause   
him... And he himself also knew that his master had had every rights to do that,   
to make him feel whatever pain he had seen fit, but in a darker corner of his   
heart, he was resenting him for making him suffer for this long... and his   
resent extended to include his father in his grief...   
  
They had always been loyal to their master, had always served him faithfully,   
without questions, in blind obedience, had made sacrifices for him... And they   
were always successful... Couldn't he find it in his small heart to forgive them   
for the loss of his technical pride?.., he mused in dark frustration. He would   
even be able to rebuild a new, even better one whenever he wanted, he reminded   
himself angrily.  
  
On the other hand, he thought more sadly, he and his father would never forget   
the torment they had just been through... They would always bear the scars on   
their hearts and souls.  
  
And he himself on his body.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Vader knelt at his master's holographic feet.  
  
"How did things proceed?" the Emperor asked him coolly, as if nothing of   
importance had taken place.  
  
Vader slightly resented his attitude but answered him properly.  
  
"As you had foreseen, Master," he informed him diligently while he raised his   
head back to an upright position. "The rebels will be convinced that we are   
after him, that we want him very badly; they will keep him with them," he   
assured him, keeping his eyes down to avoid his master's sight.  
  
"And how has your son taken all this?" the ruler inquired pointedly yet still   
coolly.   
  
Vader hesitated slightly at this, wondering how he should answer, then he spoke   
again.   
  
"Like any other soul who faced this kind of agony, Master," he admitted,   
then privately added: 'We crushed his soul as if he were our enemy, but you   
don't mind, you bastard!' he finished to himself, using the word his son had   
screamed a few times out of frustration.   
  
He then calmed down, having vented his resent at their master for his son's   
actual status, but not before reaching a decision.  
  
"Luke accepts the punishment as his due, Master," he explained as coolly as he   
could manage, "but he resents how long it lasted."  
  
"Resents?" the Emperor repeated, suddenly displaying signs of unhappiness.  
  
Vader restrained his bad temper once again and remained courteous with his   
master.  
  
"Eighteen days was a very long lapse of time, even for him, Master. A few days   
would have been enough," he defended.  
  
"Perhaps, but the fact that he bore up that many sessions will insure the   
rebels 'protectiveness'," his master retorted in a dismissing manner.  
  
"Since only a Jedi could survive this long..." Vader nodded, reluctantly   
accepting his master's cruel logic.   
  
Still, he thought grimly, his son 'had' suffered more than he deserved, and so   
had he, emotionally speaking.  
  
"As soon as your son will be healed, I have no doubt that he will understand,   
Lord Vader," the Emperor then commented conversationally. "Remember that pain   
clouds one's mind in more than one way," he then advised him warningly.  
  
"Yes, Master..." he reluctantly agreed. He knew why they used that strategy to   
break their military prisoners, but still--- "If I may suggest though, Master,"   
he spoke up again as he remembered his first conversation with his son, before   
the nightmare had begun. "He's been with the rebels for more than five months   
now; he deserves a slight reward," he stated almost defiantly.  
  
"A reward?.." the ruler asked, obviously not convinced at all and perhaps even   
upset at his daringness.  
  
"He misses Mara," Vader answered simply. "Perhaps you could send her to check   
up on him?" he suggested maliciously, recovering his cooler, more normal edge.  
  
The Emperor pondered the suggestion at length, then nodded his agreement.   
  
"Mara Jade would indeed be able to ascertain the status of his recovery," he   
smiled at the deviousness of the situation. "In a few weeks, I will transmit   
your son's coordinates to her."  
  
"Thank you, Master." Vader bowed respectfully; the communicator turned off on   
the Emperor's end.   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
On Coruscant, the Emperor gazed at the darkened area where his right arm had   
been standing a moment ago.   
  
From what he had felt during their communication, the older Vader had also been   
shaken by his latest action against the boy. However, he had passed the test;   
he didn't care enough about the boy to disobey him. Instead, he had disliked   
the experience, but had done everything necessary to please him.  
  
This was how he liked it, he thought in satisfaction. Of course, he then   
conceded less happily, there was that last request about Mara Jade. While he   
had estimated that the boy's long separation from her would weaken their bond,   
it hadn't dwindled in strength at all. Instead, both youths still felt as one   
in his senses, and he was also aware that they never went to sleep without   
yearning for one another's presence.   
  
Very well, he decided, he would satisfy them... once the boy would learn his   
place once again. Unbeknown to the powerful young Jedi, his resent directed at   
him had made it all the way to him through his Force meditations; he had been   
very tempted to answer him, to even punish him again and finish what his father   
had almost done by ridding him of his love for his father, but the youth had   
learnt his lessons well.  
  
Even as the boy tried to be angry at him, his deeper training took over and made   
him accept his fate. He simply need to rant, he surmised, and hate the rebels   
even more, he added with a villainous sneer. If only for the corruptive powers   
of this feeling, he would allow the boy to resent his last order for as long as   
he wanted. Perhaps then, he reflected seriously, he would truly be his, in the   
dark Side, no longer a last remnant of Jedi upstart, but unfortunately, the   
boy's ingrained goodness wasn't ready to whither just yet.  
  
It resisted the onslaught... and the boy's thoughts focused on his recovery,   
which would then lead him to victory, and his return 'home'... as a dark Lord of   
the Sith in his own rights, the Emperor sneered slightly in annoyance.   
  
While he wanted the boy to destroy the Rebellion forever, he still didn't want   
him to come out of the shadows. He liked him just as he was right now; a secret   
element, a nobody but a powerful one. As a man in command, the boy could become   
a serious potential for danger, especially, he estimated, given the fact that   
his missions would not always be against 'innocents'. However, he conceded,   
events were now unfolding and were out of his control, something he himself   
greatly resented; he would have to take dispositions to be ready for the   
results of the boy's success, and give him what he had promised him... until he   
could find a reason to change his status once again.  
  
TBC in: the End (of the Rebellion)  
  
  
  
Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)   
(Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff won't even be read.) 


	16. Part 16: The end of the Rebellion

Part 16: the End  
By SJ 03-03-00/12-12-00 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
  
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Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving me some of your   
precious time, my friend :)  
  
  
__________________  
  
  
  
  
At one of the remaining rebel base, Luke underwent a week of bacta treatment   
after which it took him another four weeks to completely recover his normal   
status.   
  
It would have taken him less time if he had used his full abilities, but he   
knew that he couldn't risk blowing up his 'untrained' cover, hence he bore up   
with the slow recovery. However, the slow healing served him well. While he   
healed his body, his mind slowly recovered its previous edge and coolness.  
  
  
That night, after freeing himself from the over-protective princess and the   
overbearing Solo crew, he went for a walk in the jungle. Unlike them, he didn't   
fear being attacked; any attacker, he thought in reborn self-confidence, would   
pick on the wrong target if it did pick on him.   
  
On his way out of the now suffocating base, he admitted that he was grateful to   
finally feel completely back on his feet, both physically and mentally. After   
the difficult month, he finally felt like himself again, and he was once again   
content to be at the service of his Emperor.  
  
He shortly interrupted his thoughts to salute two of the remaining grunt rebel   
pilots, then resumed his quiet meditation.  
  
Yes, he thought seriously, his master had hurt both him and his father more than   
they had deserved, but at the same time, he now conceded, they had had to keep   
up the appearances.   
  
It had merely been their duties, granted more taxing than any other they had   
ever performed, but the had done what had to be done...   
  
It was pointless to hold a grudge against his master, he then reminded himself   
coolly; the only resent he could feel was against himself for holding such grief   
in the first place.  
  
When he had left for this mission, he had remembered throughout the past weeks,   
he had known that it would be the toughest of his career, filled with bad   
surprises and adjustments due to the nature of his 'allies' and secrecy.   
  
Being an imperial prisoner, he conceded, had been one of those, but it had been   
worth the ploy since the rebels had decided to cover his identity, erasing it   
from their remaining computers, and they had decided to trust him.  
  
Ever since he had recovered the ability to walk on his own, they now included   
him in their meetings and had nominated him 'commander' of a squadron of ace   
pilots; as such, he was entrusted with some secrets.  
  
He smiled grimly at that. They didn't have to fear, he reflected in dry humor,   
he would make very good use of those secrets indeed. Now the only thing he had   
to do was---  
  
His danger sense flared even as he barely heard a swooshing sound.   
He swiftly stepped aside his previous position, then felt more than saw the   
figure that landed right beside him in a crouch; he jumped, avoiding her   
sweeping leg, then landed back on the ground, caught her highest wrist and   
pulled her up to her feet and against himself.   
  
He then drew the shroud that was hiding the woman's features--- and kissed her   
with all his pent-up passion.  
  
*Hello, flyboy,* Mara sent, twining her free arm around his neck while deepening   
their embrace.   
  
*What are you doing here?* he asked her even as he freed her wrist to caress her   
body through her camouflage clothes.  
  
*Paying you a visit. Is that how you receive all your guests, flyboy?* she   
inquired lustfully.  
  
*Only those whom I recognize the fighting style,* he sent, slowly backing her   
toward a tree. *Does the Master know you're here?* he asked her, taking a   
breath before continuing their impassioned kisses.  
  
*He sent me to retrieve your information and check on you,* she answered with a   
mental gasp as his strong arms pulled her even closer to him than she already   
was. *How about letting me check you up?* she suggested, slowly pulling his tan   
jacket off of him.   
  
Both feeling about to pass out from lack of oxygen, they reluctantly pulled away   
to recover their breaths.   
  
"Only if I have my share of the check up as well, Jade," he whispered lustfully   
while he began to open her shirt.   
  
Soon, they were both busy lovingly exploring each other's body with their hands   
and lips while opening each other's shirts.   
  
Luke felt her wince as she detected the new scars that now adorned his skin,   
then it was his turn to note the presence of new marks on her back.  
  
"What happened?" he asked her worriedly.  
  
"Shrapnel," she whispered shortly. "I was delayed inside the base so I was a   
tad too close when it went up."  
  
"You should have been more careful," he began, then ribbed her. "After all, I'm   
not there to cover your back."  
  
She physically ribbed him back. "I can protect my back quite well, flyboy; I   
don't need you." she pointed out mock-seriously.  
  
"Really?" Luke asked her. "Then I guess I should return to the bas----"  
  
She drew his head back to hers and kissed him breathless yet again.  
  
*You're not going anywhere,* she told him, resuming their wild kisses while   
resuming their sharing of endless love through their strengthened bond.   
  
*Do you need me, Jade?* he asked her playfully. *Are you taking back your   
words?*  
  
*They never were about that, flyboy, and you know it. Now, do we wait until I   
have to go back, or do we make the best out of our time together?* she inquired   
in kind  
  
*I think making the best out of this is wiser,* he sent her jokingly before   
deepening their embraces.  
  
  
  
  
  
About an hour later, Luke held her to himself one last time. Soon, he promised   
himself, he would be reunited with her and his normal life. He then admitted   
that he couldn't wait for it to happen.  
  
"Mara?" he whispered in her hair.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Do you know that you are the only woman I ever wanted to love?" he asked her as   
he raised his head to look at her. "The princess is intriguing, but she doesn't   
even reach your ankle," he told her truthfully, aware that she had been   
wondering since the destruction of the Death Star about the depth of his   
relationship with the rebel leader.  
  
Mara raised her head from his shoulder and looked at him in the eye.   
  
"Even now?" she asked pointedly.   
  
"Especially now that I know her better," Luke nodded. "I will not have any   
regrets when I will be done with her," he reassured her earnestly before kissing   
her lightly.  
  
She shifted in his arms.   
  
"Then let's get this over with," she smiled seriously, echoing his trademark   
sentence.  
  
"Right," he returned. "The rebel bases are on Calamari, Kyyr, Salg and Paiya."   
he told her seriously. "There are also two divisions of the fleets hidden in   
the Cauldron and FirePit nebulas."  
  
"And how many will be left afterward?" she asked him.  
  
"The base here, and two or three others that I will figure out soon enough, but   
all of those are backed by the remnants of the fleet."  
  
Mara pondered his revelation for a few seconds; Luke drank in her beautiful   
sight. How he had missed her, he thought warmly.  
  
"Can you make it look as if we've captured one of your computers?" she inquired,   
cutting in his lustful thoughts.  
  
"What do you think I was about to suggest?" he sneered in answer. "Of course I   
can forge an alibi in their computers. In fact, that's what I was going to do   
after my little 'walk'," he assured her, almost miffed that she'd think him   
unable to do it. "You know," he added, just for good measure. "I live with the   
Rebels, but I haven't become as foolish nor incompetent as they are," he   
reminded her.   
  
"Good," she smiled, then kissed him once again, smiling as she pressed her lips   
against his owns. *I can't wait either to have you back, my love,* she sent   
with all her love.  
  
*You cheat,* he teased her. *That was supposed to be my line.*  
  
Mara answered him by deepening their kiss.  
  
  
  
  
  
Eventually, it was time to say goodbye.   
  
"Be careful. We're almost through it," she reminded him, then smirked slightly;   
"Don't destroy any other Death Star till then."  
  
Luke slightly glare at her for the useless reminder, then laughed humorlessly.   
"Ah, ah, very funny. Don't worry," he reassured her, "I will not let my guard   
down until I'm 'recovered' by Father."  
  
"I'll try to be there too, flyboy," she promised, pecked his lips one last time,   
then left him.  
  
"I'll be sure to be at our reunion, my love." he told her already receding form.   
  
Through their bond, he felt her slight smile of amusement even though he   
couldn't see it, then he reluctantly closed their link like he had since the   
beginning of his mission.  
  
Right, he told himself as he put his shirt back on. Back to Luke Skywalker,   
galactic idiot.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Early in the morning but after a secret detour by the message board to forge the   
report of a stolen computer, he made his way back to his quarters.   
  
He had barely stepped into the now almost deserted area of the base when he felt   
the familiar presence near his door; he refrained himself from frowning at her   
worry. However, he conceded that he was very surprised to find her there.  
  
"Luke, where have you been?" she asked as she walked up to him. "I was so   
worried about you," she explained worriedly as she reached him.   
  
"Sorry, I was just out in the jungle, thinking..." he explained, then frowned as   
something occurred to him. "Why aren't you sleeping?" he asked her, noting how   
early it was.  
  
"I couldn't close my eyes... Do you care for some tea." she offered, easily   
changing the topic of their conversation.  
  
Not really, he thought to himself, but he could feel that he had better stick   
around her, for whatever reason he would probably soon discover.   
  
"Sure," he shrugged.   
  
She guided him back into her quarters; Luke followed her. As he stepped inside   
the small area, he dimly reflected that it was the first time that he was   
allowed in her private quarters. They were sparsely furnished, he observed,   
then admitted that it was quite unexpected, even from the strange princess of   
late-Alderaan.  
  
"You know, Luke..." she began from her small kitchenette area, serving two cups   
of the tea that she had made for herself. "If I hadn't felt that you weren't in   
danger, I would've gone after you," she admitted truthfully.   
  
Her choice of words threw Luke into a spin. Felt??  
  
"What do you mean?" he carefully queried as he sat down on her couch.  
  
"I don't know exactly..." she began as she came back in her sitting area and   
offered him one of her cups. He thanked her. "but somehow, deep inside myself,   
I knew that you were not in danger, just like I knew that you were undergoing   
astounding pain while you were in Vader's hands..." she added glumly. "I... I   
can't explain it, but I know those things to be fact when they come to me," she   
commented in a thoughtful voice.  
  
Luke had completely forgotten his tea, his eyes riveted on the petite chocolate-  
haired woman.   
  
"Does it happen for other persons?" he asked her, trying hard to maintain his   
innocent front.  
  
The more she had spoken, and the more the guidance of the Force had grown strong   
in him. There was something there, it seemed to tell him, something he had   
always known but had never seen for what it had been...  
  
"No," she answered, shaking her head tiredly. "Only you... it's as if... as   
if..." she hesitated.  
  
"We were linked somehow," Luke completed, feeling as lost as she was.   
  
"Yes," she breathed, locking her confused eyes on his owns.  
  
"But we're not," he told her seriously. "I don't have any other family."  
  
"Nor do I," she agreed, somewhat sadly he noted when she avoided his eyes---   
then gazed straight at him once again. "Could it be a deep friendship? Could   
it do this?" she asked him, looking for an answer in his eyes.  
  
No, he wanted to shake his head. It was the Force, he now understood.   
Somehow, the princess could tap into it...   
  
"Perhaps," he told her in his best act of bemusement.   
  
He finished his tea and set his cup on the small kaff table.   
  
"You should get some sleep, Leia, before the others call on you," he advised her   
gently, surprising himself with his suddenly true care toward the rebel leader.  
  
"Would you mind staying with me?" she asked him, the ghosts of Alderaan rising   
once more before her eyes.  
  
Now familiar with this routine around the end of each month of the sad   
anniversary, Luke didn't comment. He simply offered her his hand. She took it,   
rose from her seat and sat beside him, resting her head on his shoulder.  
  
"I'm sorry, Luke..." she apologized shamefully. "I know it looks foolish... but   
you're the only one---"  
  
"I know, Leia... I'm the only one who makes them go away... Sleep now," he   
instructed her, putting a tiny bit of Force incentive in his words.   
  
The young woman fell asleep in his arms, cuddling closer to his embrace.   
  
If he didn't know better, Luke finally thought in dark amusement, he would say   
that they were sibl---  
  
A flash of knowledge suddenly hit his Force senses, telling him that he had put   
his finger on the mystery.  
  
Leia Organa was his sister... Impossible, he shook his head in denial, yet, his   
less naive self argued, even as he thought about it, he knew that it was true.   
  
As she herself had said, he smiled thinly, he could feel it.   
  
Following this hunch, he brought back to mind the images that his father had   
shown him of his mother, then compared them with the princess' looks.  
  
Same hair, same eyes, same delicate features... same spirit if one judged the   
actions of both women... How come he had never seen it before?, he wondered   
suddenly--- then his thoughts came to a halt as he remembered what was about to   
happen.  
  
By the Force this changed a lot of things, he reflected seriously. He wouldn't   
let anyone kill her now, but she herself would react less than positively to the   
discovery that her brother had played with her for this long...  
  
However, he thought more lightly, he'd finally be able to explain to his   
girlfriend his weird fascination for the woman.  
  
Making up his mind, although somewhat reluctantly, he closed his eyes, focused   
and reached out for his father, something he hadn't done since... their last   
meeting.   
  
Thankfully, the older man was wide awake and in the middle of his day.  
  
*Father,* he began seriously, urgently. *I have some serious news for you,* he   
quickly informed the Dark Lord, then unobtrusively, humbly waited for him to   
answer him.  
  
He felt his father dismiss his counselors before he retreated to his place of   
choice near the large window bays of his flagship.  
  
*What news? Not bad ones I hope,* he told him seriously, almost warningly, he   
noted.  
  
*No,* Luke reassured him coolly to hide his slight cringe as his father's   
presence focused on him. *But there is still a major change of plan, again,* he   
sighed in renewed acceptance.   
  
*Well?* his father sent, steeling himself for whatever he had to tell him.  
  
  
  
  
  
Not too far from a rebel base, Lord Vader braced himself for what he could feel   
as truly disturbing news coming his way.  
  
His son equally gathered his composure, he felt, then sent him: *I'm not the   
only Skywalker alive.*   
  
It the sudden call from his up-to-now silent son had startled him, this   
information truly unsettled him. Not the only Skywalker alive? Well, in a way,   
no since he himself was also still alive while not wearing that cursed name   
anymore, and so was his son, he dimly reminded himself before admitting defeat   
in his reasoning.  
  
*What do you mean, not the only one?* he queried, genuinely confused.  
  
Thanks to his link with his son, he felt him gaze at whoever was beside him,   
then he refocused his attention on him.  
  
*I think I just found my twin sister,* the youth told him softly.  
  
Had his breath not been regulated by a machine, Vader conceded that he might   
have stopped breathing upon hearing this. A daughter??? Not only a son, but a   
daughter as well?? And who----  
  
*You met her before, Father,* the boy told him even as his own mind began to   
remind him of how he had felt while around a certain prisoner who was now very   
close to his son...  
  
Even as his son understood that his sister had also been hidden and kept apart   
from their parents, Vader put two and two together.  
  
*Princess Leia Organa?!* his father gaped in an uncharacteristically   
confused voice.   
  
The princess from late Alderaan would be his daughter?? But how could it be----   
yet even as he pondered that possibility, he 'knew' that it was the truth. She   
was an exact copy of her mother, just like his son was a copy of himself...  
  
*She's strong in the Force, Father,* his son commented in the silence. *At   
least from what I can feel, but the most peculiar thing is that she told me that   
she knows how if I'm in danger... or pain, or well,* he informed him.  
  
*Astounding..." his father mentally gaped, then he recovered a cooler composure   
as he made his decision about this pleasant discovery.   
  
*I will contact the Emperor to inform him of this new development. Until we can   
run the appropriate tests on her, make sure that she remains alive, Son.*  
  
Luke mentally chuckled. *It shouldn't be a problem, Father. She's literally   
clinging onto me right now,* then his son showed him the young woman who was   
asleep on him. *She's sleeping on me now; her ghosts are back and she needs her   
brother's comfort,* he sneered slightly.  
  
*Does she know about your true identity?* his father inquired worriedly.  
  
*No,* Luke reassured him. *but she's aware that there is something between us.   
She also knows that only I make her ghosts go away.*   
  
*Hmm, probably because of your family bond with her,* his father mused. *It   
probably erases the pain of the loss of her foster family.*  
  
*Probably,* Luke agreed, then they both fell silent yet remained in contact.   
  
However, it was an eerie silence, one that wasn't filled with as many feelings   
as usual, as if his son still kept himself slightly closed-up.  
  
Unable to stand the uncomfortable silence anymore, the dark lord inquired: *Am I   
mistaken or are you feeling better than four weeks ago?*  
  
For a moment, he felt as if he had opened that topic too fast and that his son   
wouldn't answer him.  
  
*I do,* he finally nodded in reassurance. *I'm sorry for what I did and   
thought, Father... I didn't mean it,* the child apologized earnestly.  
  
*Neither did I, Luke,* his father reminded him warmly while attempting to   
mentally caress his mind.  
  
At first, he didn't feel as if his son had allowed him in, then he felt an   
opening in the boy's walls and sighed in relief.  
  
*I know,* the youth equally sighed tiredly. *I made my peace with what had to   
be done, and I'm ready to move on now,* he answered him coolly.  
  
Since he was still in deeper contact with the boy's mind, Vader felt that while   
he had mostly recovered his previous edge, a tiny part of him might never   
recover and trust him again. After all, he conceded glumly while he tried to   
mentally reassure that corner of his son's soul, thanks to the Emperor's orders,   
he himself had been proven as yet another tool that could be turned against him   
if he cared too much.  
  
When the fragile 'child' unconsciously recoiled from his attempt to touch him,   
Vader admitted defeat and completely re-entered his own body. However, it   
greatly saddened him that something in his son would always see him as a cold   
monster who blindly obeyed his master.   
  
It was more complex than this, and he himself would do anything to never repeat   
the incident ever again.  
  
*I am also ready to finish it,* he informed his son after a few seconds.  
  
A short, slightly uncomfortable silence stretched once again between them,   
testimony of the physical and emotional distance that was still keeping them   
apart.   
  
*When you will be back, Son, I want to take some time to talk about what   
happened with you,* his father told him seriously. *I don't want it to ruin   
what we had.*  
  
*I'd like that very much, Father,* Luke nodded in agreement. *I'm truly sorry   
for what I screamed back then,* he repeated glumly.  
  
*And I'm sorry for what I put you through, Son,* his father told him yet   
again, accompanying his words with a new, reflexive mental caress. Luke   
accepted it this time.   
  
*Just hang into your role for a few more days. I've already begun our final   
attacks. I should get to you between seven to ten days,* he told him half-  
seriously, half-earnestly.  
  
*I can't wait for that day to arrive, Father,* the youth answered earnestly.  
  
*I know. Be careful.*  
  
*You too.*  
  
  
  
  
They reluctantly severed their closer link and refocused on their respective   
duties.   
  
Luke wrapped his arms more securely around his sister's shoulders and settled in   
to get some sleep himself. It was a shame that his sister had been corrupted by   
the Rebellion, he thought seriously. This would make her return into her   
rightful family much more complicated than it would have been otherwise.  
  
But she would return, he resolved; in time, she too would reclaim the legacy   
That those cursed Jedi traitors had stolen from her... then nobody would ever   
separate their family again.  
  
On that contenting though, he slipped into a restful trance.  
  
******  
  
  
  
Thousands of parsecs away, after having supervised the simultaneous destruction   
of three secondary rebel bases, Vader reported to his master.  
  
"Have we succeeded, my friend?" the evil ruler queried with undeniable dark   
excitement in his voice.  
  
With those less important bases out of the way, even the supreme ruler knew that   
all they had left were the ones that Jade had reported to him.  
  
"Yes, Master," he reassured the ruler. "The Second Fleet has been informed to   
take care of the last planet-based nests; the Red and Blue fleets will take care   
of the hidden ships."  
  
"Excellent," the other smiled in dubious delight. "And you yourself?" he asked   
pointedly, having noticed the absence of his presence amongst the troops he had   
enumerated.   
  
"I will recover my son... and daughter, Master," he said with some dark   
mischief.  
  
Vader had meant to shock his master, but he truly pursed his lips in   
satisfaction when he judged the extent of his success.   
  
The Emperor was glowering.  
  
"Daughter?" he finally asked in little more than a dangerous whisper.  
  
"Yes," he nodded seriously. "Luke has pierced her cover a few hours ago, thanks   
to a guidance in the Force. Naturally, we haven't confirmed her genetic claim   
to that title yet, but Luke knows that it is the truth, and so do I, Master," he   
added for good measure.  
  
"And who," the Emperor inquired with a scowl, obviously miffed by this new bit   
of information, "is this daughter we have never heard of before?"   
  
Vader couldn't help but smirk as he identified the girl: "Princess Leia of   
Alderaan, Master."  
  
The Emperor literally gaped at his servant, but unlike anybody else, this   
expression didn't make him look foolish; instead, it added to his ominous   
appearance.  
  
Vader conceded that he was relieved to be far away from his master at the   
moment.  
  
"Leia Organa?? Are you sure your son isn't trying to play us to keep her   
alive?" he inquired slowly, surly.  
  
"Yes, my Master." Vader reassured him. "The princess is strong in   
the Force," he explained, "she felt Luke's pain while they were apart, and...   
she looks like an exact copy of my wife."  
  
The Emperor's eyes flashed under his cowl at the mention of the long-defunct   
senator Padme Amidala from Naboo, then he mused over that last argument.   
  
"You may keep her alive," he finally granted him, proving him once more that he   
knew exactly what was in his heart without his saying anything. "but I want   
proof of her link to you the moment she is brought onboard. I will not spare   
her if your son was wrong," he warned very seriously.  
  
"I understand, Master, and I will ascertain her identity as soon as possible,"   
Vader promised him.  
  
"Good. I will await your final report, as well as your son's," the Emperor   
informed him, his voice recovering its previous coldness. "I heard that he was   
more than back on his feet," he then commented meanly with a satisfied smile.  
  
"He is, Master," Vader nodded, not exactly elated to admit that his master had   
been right about his son's punishment being inconsequential. It wasn't, not for   
them at least.   
  
"Bring us victory then, Lord Vader." he instructed him.  
  
"Yes, Master."  
  
"Oh and, my friend," he added just before dismissing him. "make sure you don't   
have any more offspring scattered in the galaxy," he ordered him coldly.  
  
"As you wish, Master." Vader bowed, fighting his smirk of amusement at his   
master's last comment.  
  
He did like to distraught his master, and he had obviously succeeded with these   
latest news. He promised himself to retell this report to his son when he would   
get him back.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
At the rebel base on Ktaali, Luke awoke to the feeling of a young woman's body   
pressed against his own, especially his side. He eagerly looked down, expecting   
a mop of red-gold hair, but instead, he saw the dull brown of the rebel   
princess.  
  
His sister, he then reminded himself. Of course, he admitted to himself, as   
long as she would be a rebel, he wouldn't show her any of the consideration she   
deserved with this new status, but at the same time, he 'would' spend even more   
time around her until his father 'captured' them.  
  
Now, he really had to protect her, he decided. He wouldn't let any unnecessary   
harm come to her.  
  
A sudden knock on the princess's door jerked her awake.   
  
"Princess, the bases are under attack!" a stupid rebel trooper shouted through   
the door. "General Rieekan wants to see you now!"   
  
"What?!" Leia exclaimed, her adrenaline level reaching peaks in a matter of   
seconds.  
  
Luke reflected that he had never seen anybody wake up faster than his sister   
Just did. Her eyes had widened in shock, then she had jumped to her feet and   
practically crashed through her door before he himself had gotten to his feet,   
ignoring the fact that she was still dress in her bathrobe and sleep gown.   
  
  
  
Five minutes later, the rebellion's remaining leaders, all dressed in sleeping   
attires, were gathered in the control room as they monitored what was going on   
at the other bases.   
  
They were loosing, plain and simple, Luke thought in dark satisfaction as he   
squeezed his sister's hand in mock reassurance. They then found his forged   
message and gasped.   
  
Mon Mothma read it carefully, exchanged a grim glance with the princess, then   
Himself, Solo and Rieekan.   
  
"Evacuate the base immediately," she ordered them seriously. "We still have a   
few hours before they show up in our space," she reminded them.  
  
As he left with Solo to relay his orders, Luke smirked inwardly. He knew that   
on Mon's screen, it had been written that all their planet-based refuges had   
been in the 'stolen' computer and three of them had already fallen. Then, as he   
had planned, she saw their remaining ships as their last chance; it was   
going to be their undoing, he mentally smiled darkly.  
  
At last.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
As Luke tinkered on his x-wing, for lack of anything else to do, he reflected on   
the past seventy-two hours.   
  
They had evacuated their last base faster than he had ever though possible, kind   
of like Leia's awakening three days ago, he chuckled to himself. Nobody had   
ever suspected the presence of a spy in their midst, convinced that their   
computers had fallen in Imperial hands, thus giving them access to classified   
information.  
  
At the moment, the rest of the head figures were in the meeting room of the   
Liberator, trying to plan a way to rise from this vicious, relentless beating.   
  
They could try all they wanted, he thought in self-satisfaction, but they would   
fail.   
  
"Hey, Kid," Solo's voice broke his reminiscing.   
  
It took Luke all his will-power not to assail the pilot with his most powerful   
punch. Soon, he reminded himself, very soon... And one thing he'd make sure of   
is to teach Solo that he wasn't a 'kid'.  
  
"Hi Han... any news from the others?" he asked as if discouraged.   
  
Except for his squadron and another pilot, some fifty ground troops and the   
three ships that were composing their 'fleet', they hadn't heard from any other   
unity.  
  
"Afraid not... I think that's all they have left," Solo commented seriously.  
  
Luke agreed, as if glum, then noted that the pilot was still with the doomed   
group instead of turning his tail to them like he had done at Yavin.  
  
"Can I ask you why you're still here?" he asked him as naively as he could.  
  
Solo sighed, then shrugged.   
  
"If I could tell you, Kid, I would," he answered simply.  
  
The Wookiee growled something unintelligible. Luke wondered how long it would   
take for the alien to understand that nobody was listening to it and just shut   
up.  
  
"Leia?" Luke suggested wryly.  
  
Solo shrugged. "Perhaps. And you? Why are you still here?"  
  
He was tempted to answer: 'To guide Father here and be done with you all.'   
However, he assumed his lame, idiotic character.  
  
"I'm not going to abandon them; I'll fight against the Empire until the end," he   
told him as earnestly as he could managed.  
  
"Are you ready for it, Kid?" Solo asked, leaning his shoulder against the x-  
wing's strut.  
  
Luke was surprised by the suddenly interested attitude of the pilot. Solo, he   
reflected warily, was becoming even more of a wild card than he had been before.   
He made a note to himself to keep a very close eye on him.  
  
"I will be ready for it when faced with it," the youth answered the other.   
  
The smuggler looked at him; Luke met his gaze... and noticed that the other   
seemed to reconsider his evaluation of him.  
  
Very, very unpredictable element, he noted to himself.  
  
"Well, it might just give you an edge in the end, Luke," Solo commented   
seriously.  
  
No tease, no sneer, Luke noticed, just plain respect. Unbeknown to him, Solo   
had just saved himself from a painful death, he conceded.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
It took his father four extra days to bring his Black fleet down onto the   
pitiful remnants of the Rebellion.  
  
Using his son as a clock, he stroke during the night shift, thus catching his   
prey completely unprepared. He pounced so hard and fast on the three rebel   
ships that they were left without any chance to defend themselves.  
  
  
  
  
Inside the wounded Liberator, Luke, who had hastily pulled on his trousers and a   
shirt, did his best to look clumsy in the zero-gs environment as he tried to   
reach the princess's side.   
  
"Leia! Are you all right?" he asked her as he floated past her and into the   
closest wall of the corridor.  
  
"Yes, I just bumped too hard against my floor. You?" she asked, rubbing her   
forehead.  
  
"I'm okay," He took hold of her hand and tried to steer her toward the end of   
the corridor. "Come on, we have to find Han and Chewie," he told her with as   
much desperation and determination as he could muster at the moment.   
  
However, what he really wanted to do was to pin her there and wait for his   
father to capture her... but now wasn't the time for his final exit, he reminded   
himself.   
  
"Perhaps then we'll be able to---" he began to add.  
  
The zero-gs suddenly turned to more than forty gs, shoving them all on the deck   
and trapping them there. Luke sharply expelled upon landing, his breath knocked   
out from his lungs.   
  
"Oooof! What's wrong?? What's going on??" he asked mock-worriedly.  
  
"We're done for," Leia told him in defeat. "They've got us in a modified   
interdictor field."  
  
"What can we do?" he inquired nervously, giving off a perfect impression of   
despair while he tried to move his hand toward his belt; he barely managed to   
move his hands a few centimeters away from its previous location before giving   
up.  
  
"Nothing... except wait for a last chance to kill ourselves," she told him   
seriously.  
  
Luke lapsed into silence, pretending to prepare himself for the worst.  
  
*It worked, Father. We're all flatter than flimsies,* he sent him.  
  
*Have you had time to reach Leia?* his father queried.   
*Yes,* he nodded. *She's going to look for a chance to commit suicide,* he   
warned him.  
  
*Keep her from doing it,* he instructed him, his senses growing closer and   
closer as his father's ship slowly sucked the wounded ship inside its   
hold.  
*No problem.* he assured him.  
  
Around him, the noises of the almost deserted corridor changed and became   
punctuated by clanging noises.   
  
"They've got us," Leia commented in the silence, her voice devoid of any hope.  
  
Knowing that he had to retain his role until the last minute, Luke slowly   
strained again against the heavy gravity... and touched her hand with his own,   
as if in reassurance.   
  
He did so until space troopers showed up in the corridor and stunned them.  
Luke fought against the stun blast, relying on his acting talents to look the   
part of a stunned rebel.   
  
Thus, he was aware of their being sucked out of the captured ship and into his   
father's flagship. He roughly landed on the hard deck there, was stripped of   
his weapon belt and rudely checked for other hidden weapons, then he was shoved   
inside a security cordon.   
  
He waited for some of his companions to wake up before 'he' did so. As if per   
design, he was lost in the middle of the assembled group, not at its edges.   
  
It would make his father's plan that much more dramatic to the rebels, he   
smirked to himself. Beside him, the princess steered. While he waited for her   
to recover, he looked around himself for Solo and the Wookiee. They weren't   
anywhere to be seen.   
  
They had probably turned tails in the end, he reflected. It proved that they   
were intelligent after all.  
  
"Luke?.." Leia asked weakly from his side.  
  
"Sshhh," he whispered in a conspirator-like fashion. "We're aboard their ship.   
I think that if we can remain inconspicuous, we have at least a chance to be   
killed with the regular troops. They've already singled out the other leaders,"   
he informed her as he looked around themselves.   
  
He was glad that his sister had followed his advice and dressed like a regular   
Soldier for the past days. That made her that much more easy to conceal.   
  
"Where's Han?" she asked as she slowly sat up.   
  
"Not here. He probably managed to make a last stand," he told her in his best   
Skywalker-crazy impersonation, suggesting a heroic death for the smuggler   
and scoundrel.  
  
Leia seemed stricken by his words; she bowed her head in grief, then she lifted   
it just as Luke did when his father came up in his sensing range. Yes, he   
conceded lightly, Leia was his sister indeed, he observed. She too could feel   
their father's closing presence.   
  
"Get up, Rebel scums," the commander ordered.   
  
When the troopers began to hit the far line until they were up on their feet,   
the others reluctantly obeyed. Playing his role, Luke tried to hide behind his   
companions. Meanwhile, his father walked past the rebel leaders without so much   
as a glance, focusing on the regular troops instead.   
  
"Do you think he suspects?" Leia asked him, leaning closer to him.  
  
"I hope not," he lied.  
  
His father proved 'Skywalker' wrong. He walked inside the cordon, down the line   
of rebel men and women who were standing in front of his son, knocking aside the   
sole man who dared jump at him, then continued down the line until he was right   
in front of him. Behind Vader, troopers had taken position to create a secure   
corridor amongst the Rebels while other troopers had closed in the group to   
stand behind the now singled-out 'rebel'.  
  
Luke pretended to look for a way out, but the troopers behind him seized his   
arms while others aimed at the princess. Before Luke could 'try' to escape or   
something, his father's hand grabbed hold of his shirt, then his lightsaber's   
deactivated tip found its way in the hinge of his jaw where it pushed hard   
against his flesh. Luke couldn't help but cringe inwardly at the once again   
ominously close sight and presence of his father.  
  
"I told you that there was no escaping me, boy," he told him victoriously.  
  
Around them, Luke felt the cold terror of the Rebels; they were perfectly   
convinced that the dark lord had only been hunting the young Jedi, not the   
Rebellion.  
  
Before Luke could calm himself and answer, or even play his part of a fight-or-  
die rebel, two troopers clasped binders around his wrists, expertly securing   
them behind his back.   
  
"Put the princess with the other leaders," Vader ordered the troops as he   
shifted his grip and grabbed hold of the young man's biceps. He kept his   
lightsaber handy but no longer pressed against his jugular.  
  
"I'll never let you win, Vader, never," Luke 'snarled', pulling against his   
father's inescapable grip while growing aware that he was half-heartedly truly   
trying to step away from his father. It puzzled him, but now was not the time   
to worry about it, he reminded himself.  
  
"You already have, boy," he told him coldly as he pushed him in motion.   
  
"Don't listen to him, Luke," Leia told him earnestly, fighting against her own   
guards. "You know it's not true."  
  
While he, his father, his sister and guards walked and struggled, he noticed   
that some troops around them seemed to debate whether to try anything while   
others were trying to understand just what was going on at the moment.   
  
Luke played his role of defiant pest for as long as he could, which meant a   
little under two seconds long. His father's grip tightened so much on his arm   
that he felt like it was going to break with a little more pressure.   
  
When they reached the edge of the assembled troops, his father slightly let it   
up as he addressed the officer in charge of their troopers, then forced him   
forward once again.   
  
While the troopers gathered the rebel troops to transfer them where they would   
meet their fate, Luke wanted to crow at and tell them that they had been foolish   
to choose the rebel camp, but instead, he continued to play his role and resumed   
his fight against his father.   
  
Lord Vader knocked him half-conscious with the Force, allowing him just enough   
consciousness to docilely follow him. Meanwhile, Leia was shoved with the other   
leaders.   
  
  
  
  
*Luke, I don't want to hurt you for the final step,* Vader sent his recovering   
son while his troopers eradicated the last of the rebels.  
  
As his son awoke further, seemed to wince slightly at something, then he asked   
him what he had mind.  
  
*I'm going to pretend tormenting you via the Force. Can you act the part?* his   
father queried solicitously.  
  
*Yes,* the boy nodded glumly despite himself.  
  
Oh yes, Vader conceded, his son would sure know how to pretend being in great   
torment... he unfortunately had a lot of experience in that matter now... But   
never again, thanks to today's victory, he reminded himself.  
  
  
  
  
  
Luke pretended to be less aware than he actually was. He felt his father's   
large hand take hold of his head, his gloved fingers splaying themselves in his   
dark blond locks. For a brief, very brief moment, he almost panicked as his   
mind identified the touch as potential danger, then his more rational mind woke   
up and reminded him that it was only part of the plan. It was a tool to help   
him simulate better.  
  
"Now," Vader began darkly. "you have no troops left, no hope of any kind. Tell   
me everything I want to know," he warned the rebel leaders.   
  
"We will not---" Mon Mothma began haughtily   
  
Luke interrupted her with a fake shriek of absolute pain. His father minutely   
untightened his hold on his bent head, wordlessly telling him that he could cut   
it out.  
  
"You yourself don't have anything to lose, Mothma, but your young Jedi hero has   
much to lose thanks to you. Do you really want me to torment him for eternity?"   
his father asked sarcastically.  
  
"No..." Luke and Leia whispered, one in fake horror, the other in real one.  
  
"You need him for something; you wouldn't---" Leia began to argue.  
  
A slight, new tightening told him to simulate another wave of agony, then he   
lapsed into silence, moaning in false pain.  
  
"So I do, Rebel, but I can hurt him as much and as long as I want with this."  
  
Another simulation of pain.   
  
"Stop." Leia pleaded. "What do you want?"  
  
The other leaders gasped in shock before turning toward her. She pointedly   
ignored them.  
  
"Are there any other bases left? Any other ships?" Vader demanded.  
  
When she hesitated to answer, Luke screamed for all his worth, writhing in his   
father's grasp as if in great pain.   
  
"No..." Leia barely admitted.   
  
"Princess, you can't---" Rieekan began and was stunned by a nearby trooper.  
  
"You were saying?" his father asked suavely to the young woman.   
  
"Leia, don't---" Mothma began----  
  
Seeing no way out of this except through disgusting cooperation, the other   
remaining officer threw himself at his trooper, who also stunned him.   
  
Luke, aware that Leia might be tempted to do the same thing, discreetly   
convinced her to cooperate, and thus keep his acting to as short a delay as   
possible.   
  
"Leia... please..." he begged, making himself sound as if he were on the brink   
of tears.   
  
"I... I---"  
  
Luke simulated one last, powerful attack.  
  
"Stop! Please leave him alone," Leia begged in heartfelt despair.  
  
Luke pretended to have been released from his torment, slumping in his father's   
hold.   
  
"Well, princess?" Vader rumbled.  
  
"There aren't any other group left. Luke and I are the last leaders..." she   
answered shamefully.  
  
With her admission, Luke knew that it was over. He could finally stop acting,   
at last.   
  
*And you may claim your true name, young dark Jedi,* his father sent him warmly,   
proudly.  
  
"You mean, you are the last one," Luke answered his sister's last answer,   
raising his head to look at her in dark satisfaction.   
  
She gasped as she saw his far from panicked eyes, then took a step backward when   
his father let him go. Luke's binders instantly fell on the deck with a noisy   
clang.   
  
"L... L... Luke?? How... What??" she stuttered as she took a step backward.   
  
She tripped over her feet and landed hard on her butt; the troopers weapons were   
not aimed at her anymore.   
  
"Get her back to her feet," his father told him, turning toward the troops to   
give them new orders regarding the unconscious leaders.   
  
Luke walked closer to his distraught sister, almost loomed over her, then took   
hold of her arm like his father had done with him and pulled her back to her   
feet.  
  
"I don't think I need to spell it out to you, Leia," he commented seriously.   
"You've even already understood the basics."  
  
He felt his sister's intent to hit him a fraction of a second before her head   
moved swiftly closer. He easily avoided her.   
  
"Traitor! I trusted you!" she spat, trying to hurt him again, this time with her   
legs.  
  
Luke easily blocked her attack, then he pushed her slightly forward of himself   
to avoid anymore attacks.   
  
"I know, but that was the plan, Leia," he informed her coolly, feeling a slight   
pang of regret for having lied to his sister, but she had been a rebel... she   
should have chosen her allies better.  
  
She glared at him over her shoulder, refusing the budge for her spot. "Why?"   
she finally managed to ask him.   
  
"Why?" he repeated in amusement. "Because I serve the Emperor, like Father   
does," he explained seriously.  
  
He noticed the way her eyes widened at the mention of an imperial father.   
Could she suspect?.., he wondered. His father decided to break their secret   
without anymore delay.   
  
"And you serve him in a most excellent manner, Son," his father said proudly,   
giving him back his real lightsaber as he came back beside the two young people.  
  
"F---f-father?!?" Leia whispered in horror while Luke single-handedly shoved his   
weapon in his dirty trousers.   
  
Around them, the troopers, who had been getting on with their new chores, took a   
look at their little group. Even without reaching out, Luke could feel that   
they were flabbergasted by the revelation that Lord Vader had a son.   
  
He himself though felt a warm, tingly feeling of dark pride to finally be   
able to claim his last name. At last, after all his sacrifices to please the   
Emperor, he was finally stepping out of the shadows.   
  
"Yes, Princess Leia," his father continued, "meet my son, Luke Vader. You have   
already met him," he then commented coolly, "but at the same time you haven't.   
However you will have plenty of time to get better acquainted with him."  
  
"Vornsks will fly before I fraternize with your bastard, Vader," Leia spat   
viciously.  
  
Luke blocked her new attempt to attack him, then the two young people sized each   
other up with a glance/glare; obviously displeased by what she saw, Leia resumed   
her fighting against his hold.   
  
"Bring her," his father ordered him. "The master is waiting for our report."   
*And try to calm her down if you can.*  
  
*I'll do what I can, Father... but I don't think our bond will be much help for   
a while,* he told him seriously.  
  
*As long as she doesn't attack any of us again,* his father explained. *She   
isn't saved yet.*  
  
*Okay.*  
  
Vader turned away from the two young people; Luke followed him, forcing his   
struggling 'sister' to follow him.  
  
"Leia," he told her kindly yet seriously once they were in the corridors, trying   
to appeal to what could remain of her trust in him. "it's useless to resist; I   
give you my word that we won't hurt you," he promised.  
  
"Your word as a traitor, right... You will regret keeping me alive, Vader," she   
snarled at him while she pulled yet again against his grip.  
  
Just to make sure that she wouldn't try anything, Luke minutely tightened his   
hold on her bare arm, then as she remained silent beside him, he opened his link   
with the young woman to study her thoughts.   
  
She was confused, angry, horrified, dejected, filled with hatred, and   
determinate to be defiant to the end.   
  
The one man she had never suspected of any wrongs, he read in her angry mind,   
had in fact been a viper. He wondered how she would react to the other big news   
that were coming her way.  
  
"I hate you," she muttered angrily, cutting in his thoughts.  
  
"That you might," he answered her, matter-of-factly. "but you might also soon   
revise your whole opinion about this, Leia."  
  
  
  
To be continued in part 17: Luke Vader  
  
  
Well, liked it?   
Hope so   
  
  
Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)   
(Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean or beside the point stuff won't   
even be read.) 


	17. part 17: Luke Vader

Luke Vader  
Part 17: Luke Vader  
By SJ 21-11-00/12-12-00  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving me some of your   
precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
  
As Leia reluctantly followed her 'brother', she noticed the new intonations of   
his voice, the new vocabulary; Luke Vader, she realized, had indeed fooled her   
and the whole Rebellion, expertly leading them to think that he had been nothing   
but a naive farmboy. In fact however, 'they' had been the naive ones, but never   
ag----  
  
"I did, didn't I?" he agreed with her, obviously reading her thoughts. "I've   
been thinking about staring an acting career once this was over," he then   
commented lightly as if they were still best friends.  
  
Instantly seeing red at his making fun of her torment, she moved to trip him in   
answer, but he was faster; he avoided her leg and tripped her instead. If not   
for his strong hold on her arm, she would've fallen face first on the steel   
Floor, but Luke held her fast and steady. She thus realized that the muscles   
she had seen on a few occasions had not been an illusion; the darksider 'was'   
strong, very strong in fact.   
  
She refocused on the present and became aware that they were walking inside   
private quarters. Feeling as if her doom was waiting for her in these rooms,   
she tried to resist, but to no avail; the young man easily forced her inside,   
then the doors closed behind them... as if sealing her fate, she reflected in   
growing despair.  
  
When Lord Vader left her alone with his son, she glared at the young man she had   
called her friend up to now.   
  
How could this be possible?, she wondered in thorough confusion. He had blown   
up the Death Star... had fought valiantly against the Empire... could something   
have happened to him during the time he had spent in Vader's claws?  
  
"Luke," she began, "what has he done to you to twist you like that? I... I   
won't believe that you were always like that," she added earnestly, hoping   
against hope to hit his sensitive chord.  
  
"And why not?" he asked with some amusement in his voice.  
  
"You... you blew up the Death Star," she reminded him, desperately clinging to   
her last hope. "Why would you have done that if you were an imperial?" she   
challenged him, although doubtfully.  
  
"To save you for the rest of my mission, Leia," he answered her coolly, almost   
angrily, she noted. "If you had left the planet like any other sensible being,   
I wouldn't have had to do it, and I wouldn't have angered the Emperor," he   
explained, his animosity growing with each new word.  
  
She threw him an incredulous, bemused yet hateful look. It had really been   
nothing but a ploy?? He had really been playing her since the beginning, and   
had willingly angered the Emperor?   
  
"Why do you think I was tortured for real?" he asked her in a definitely   
more dangerous voice than what she had ever heard him use up to now.   
  
Even as she cringed slightly in growing unease, the reason for that particular   
event became clear in her mind: when she had thought that he had been a captive,   
he had, in fact, been punished. She threw him an askance glare over her   
shoulder.  
  
"It served you right, you little brat," she spat.   
  
"No more bratty than you are, Leia," Vader cut in as he returned--- with a   
syringe, she saw and was instantly assailed with memories of the last time she   
had seen him with such a device nearby. "You were quite a pest yourself aboard   
the Death Star," he commented as he walked closer, tormenting her even more with   
the mention of that cursed place.  
  
She remembered the last time the dark lord had injected her; she still   
remembered it quite vividly in fact. She tried to cringe away, but she ran into   
the strong body of the younger man, much like she had backed into Vader's body   
when she had last seen Alderaan, she dimly remembered. Like his father had done   
back then, the youth held her still against himself, but one detail was   
different this time and it truly frightened her: his arms were around her hips   
and arms, effectively immobilizing her. She instantly fought against him.   
"Let me go!" she snapped. "I won't tell you anything anymore, you bastards!!-  
ah!" she yelped.  
  
"Stay still or you'll hurt yourself," Luke advised her, his voice taking in the   
softer ranges she was used to.   
  
Even as it unconsciously reminded her of his promise to not let any harm come to   
her as long as he would live, she herself 'felt' his genuine desire to save her   
from any injury; thanks to the double 'assault', she calmed down.   
  
By the time she had finished puzzling over that weird fact, the dark lord had   
stepped away from her with a sample of her blood.   
  
"Don't you cover the prick with something?" she asked him sarcastically while   
she tried to ignore the sting that still remained in her arm.  
  
"It won't be necessary," the dark Lord answered her coolly. "Luke?"  
  
She expected the youth to hurt her, or take her away, but to her astonishment,   
he momentarily brushed his left hand over her slightly bleeding skin--- and it   
healed by itself.   
  
What the?.. she mentally gasped in disbelief.  
  
"You're welcome," the young man commented before slightly pushing her forward,   
indicating that she should resume her walk.  
  
Still puzzling over what she had just seen... and 'felt' again, she didn't   
resist him. They walked past Vader, who was checking something on his computer,   
then they stood near the back of the strange bubble that was in the middle of   
the room.   
  
Now she was lost, she admitted. First, the dark lord hadn't hurt her,   
just taken a sample of her blood, then the darksiders weren't questioning her,   
and other than crowing slightly about his success, Luke wasn't torturing her   
psyche either.  
  
What in Hell was going on?, she wondered in frustration while she continued to   
glare from one man to the other.  
  
"You'll know soon enough," Luke answered in her ear.   
  
She gasped once again as she realized that he had yet again invaded her mind,   
but before she could vehemently tell him off, the dark lord came out of the   
bubble, freezing her ardor. Despite all her bluster, she secretly admitted to   
herself, deep down, that 'thing' truly scared her out of her wits.  
  
However, her eyes remained hard, defiant as she watched him exchange a nod with   
his son, then the older man walked away and knelt on some kind of circular   
device.   
  
A huge holo of the Emperor appeared almost instantly in front of them. Leia   
would have run away in fright if not for young Vader's presence behind her.   
Strangely enough, she noticed, the young man's steady breath seemed to calm her   
down.   
  
"Lord Vader, Young Vader," the despot greeted them coolly. "Congratulations on   
your success, both of you," the galactic monster commented in contentment.  
  
"Thank you, Master," both Vaders said while they bowed their heads in respect.  
  
The Emperor's gaze then found her and the ghost of a mean smile seemed to graze   
the dry lips of the ugly man.  
  
"I see you have the girl, Lord Vader," he said in the silence. "Is she yours?"   
he queried, much to Leia's horror as she finally understood why Vader had taken   
a blood sample from her.  
  
Vader's daughter???????   
  
"Yes, Master," Vader nodded before she could ask a single question. "Former   
princess Leia Organa of Alderaan is my daughter," he declared.  
  
Leia's breath was knocked out of her chest upon hearing those most unwelcome   
news. 'Never!', she mentally spat at the darksiders for lack of voice due to   
her complete shock.  
  
"Welcome in the Empire, child," the Emperor smiled meanly once again, focusing   
his yellow glare on her while affecting a gentle voice.  
  
"You can shove your welcome where I think, Palpatine," she snarled defiantly.   
  
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." the Emperor scolded less happily.  
  
Luke suddenly surprised her by leaning closer until he could whisper in her ear.   
  
"Leia, for your sake don't do anything foolish... Don't defy---"  
  
He frustratingly drew away when she tried again to head butt him.   
  
"Haven't you told her yet, Lord Vader?" the Emperor inquired in playful rebuke   
as he turned his attention back to his kneeling servant.  
  
"No, Master. I wanted to inform you first," Vader answered in deference.  
  
As if news of this importance, Leia raged inwardly, were more important to the   
Emperor than the concerned person.   
  
"Like you did for your son, of course," the tyrant reflected out loud.   
"Speaking of whom," he added, "I understand that you revealed his full   
identity now."  
  
"Yes, Master," Vader answered with a touch of pride in his voice.  
  
"Good," the Emperor approved. "I want the galaxy to know who they have to fear   
now. Young Vader?"  
  
"Yes, Master?" Luke answered, straightening his stance even more while   
maintaining his grip on her.  
  
"You may choose the reward you wish for your achievement. You are now lord   
Vader," he told him solemnly.  
  
"Junior," Leia added with a mocking, sarcastic sneer, ruining her 'brother's   
elation.  
  
He threw her a dark glare but didn't answer her barb.  
  
"Thank you, Master," he answered instead, bowing his head in respect.   
  
Unable to resist the temptation of his being in a vulnerable position, Leia   
tried to hit him in the knees with her heel, but he blocked her and easily   
forced her to her knees. The scene seemed to amuse the dark Emperor.   
  
"Lord Vader," he commented once the scuffle was over, "I suggest you teach your   
daughter good manners before you bring her in my court," he ordered maliciously.  
  
"As you wish, Master," Vader assured him.  
  
Leia wanted to retort another defiant thing, but she found herself unable to   
make a single sound. Belatedly, she understood that her 'brother' had done   
something to her with his powers, effectively keeping her silent.   
  
The despot threw her a last, amused glare, then the holo dissolved; she   
instantly recovered her voice. However, before she could berate her brother for   
his actions, the dark lord walked closer, looking quite threatening from her   
lower position. For a moment, she felt as if she were back in her cell aboard   
the Death Star.  
  
"You were lucky that he is in a merry mood, Leia," he informed her coolly, but   
non-threateningly. "Otherwise, he might have been upset by your behavior."   
  
"Yeah right, like he hasn't minded your lie," she spat in anger.  
  
  
  
  
  
Luke shook his head in slight frustration and crouched beside his sister. He   
didn't exactly like to do what he had done to her, he conceded, but he hadn't   
had any choice either. He couldn't trust her yet.  
  
"Leia, we're not making this up," he tried to comfort her. "Do you remember   
what you told me about your feeling my intense experiences?" he asked her   
gently.  
  
"I was tired and weak, Vader. There is nothing between us." she defied,   
pointedly avoiding his piercing gaze.  
  
His father called a pad to his hand with the Force; Leia, who had yet to really   
see the Force in action, saw this new every-day use of the Force. Her eyes   
bulged so much that Luke reflected that they were going to fall from their   
orbits if she remained like this for a few extra seconds. He sent her soothing,   
unconscious thoughts that it was normal and not harmful; she recovered her   
previous dispositions while he helped her back to her feet.  
  
"Not according to this, Leia," their father told her seriously.   
  
Their father showed her the data that the analysis had revealed; Luke smiled as   
he saw the good news that she really was his twin sister. However, his smile   
was short-lived when he saw how his 'sister' reacted to this. Leia scowled at   
the pad.  
  
"You forged this, it's not true," she argued caustically.  
  
Luke exchanged a gaze with his father; his father motioned toward the far bank   
of computers.   
  
"Come on, we have to show you something," Luke told her, gently guiding her   
toward the computers.   
She shrugged him off.   
  
"Dont touch me, bastard," she growled menacingly.   
  
Luke decided that she deserved a break and let her go while he followed her.   
Leia threw him a surprised glare at this, but ignored the implication of his   
gesture; she walked toward the computers, her head held high, her shoulders   
straight. Behind her, Luke recognized her attempt to look as proud as she could   
manage under the circumstances, but he wasn't fooled. He knew that at her first   
occasion, she would try to escape them. However, it wasn't a serious danger   
considering his and his father's presence with her.  
  
They finally stood just beside the activated data bank; the screen was primed to   
show her the data his father had gathered for this crucial moment. Luke had   
known that Leia wouldn't accept the truth, but, he had estimated that if they   
could at least show her the truth, her defiance would be less dangerous. His   
father had agreed with him and had gathered the information he had about himself   
and his wife.   
  
"First of all, princess, do you recognize this woman?" the dark lord inquired   
as she walked closer.  
  
She stopped in her tracks as an holo of their mother appeared on the monitor.   
She was dressed in a rich wedding gown and was standing near a lake, in some   
kind of garden. His sister's gasp informed them that she did recognize the   
woman.   
  
"This is your mother," his father identified, "Padme Amidala 'Naberrie'... my   
wife."  
  
When Leia's lips parted in silent shock, Luke knew that they now had her full   
attention. Nobody was supposed to know the secret last name of her mother...   
but his father did. No matter what he would say next, Leia couldn't deny   
anymore her belonging to the family.  
  
He pressed slightly closer to her, hoping to offer her comfort like he used to   
do during their rebel episode. She seemed to accept it since she didn't flash   
him one of her steel-bending glares.  
  
The next picture that came on screen showed the image of a tall, dark-blond   
Haired, dressed-as-a-Jedi man who was standing happily beside his new wife.   
Leia quickly turned her head around to throw a look at her brother, then at the   
dark lord, then she refocused on the screen.  
  
"And this is myself, before I became Darth Vader," his father said seriously,   
almost shamefully, Luke noted slightly.  
  
"His name was Anakin Skywalker," Luke supplied his now stricken sister.  
  
"Sky---" she gaped, then tried to recover her harder edge.   
  
Luke knew that she had just put yet another piece of the puzzle in its place.   
That was why his false name had somehow rung a bell with her, a sensitive one...  
  
Their father continued. "That was before I was betrayed by the Jedi Council and   
Survived their assassination attempt, at the hands of my own master," he   
informed them seriously.  
  
"Why should I---" Leia began.  
  
Vader walked closer, careful not to terrify his now fragile daughter.   
Both Vaders knew that they could either win her or loose her within the next   
minutes. Luke was careful to remain close enough for support, but not for   
anything else that could be interpreted as detention or pressure.  
  
"You have grown without your family, Leia," his father began gently, "because   
the Jedi council hid you from me, just like they hid your brother, but fate   
wanted me to recover him in time," he finished, relief obvious in his voice.  
  
A feeling Luke could easily relate to; he too was glad that he was done with   
the Jedi's lies. Otherwise, who knew if his father would ever have been able to   
free him from their hold?..  
  
He refocused on his sister. Leia gazed from one Vader to another, then to the   
screen where the holos were adding up to create a more complete picture of the   
past...  
  
"No... the Jedis wouldn't---" she tried to argue.  
  
"They did, Leia," Luke told her, walking around her to look in her eyes. "Look   
at us. I was raised as a Skywalker by adults who had no link whatsoever with my   
real family, raised like a poor farm boy without any amenities of any kind...   
and prohibited to talk about my true parents... while you yourself have been   
raised as a princess on a planet that was already a supporter of the   
'Rebellion'."   
  
He paused to give her time to see the picture of their disruptive family.   
  
"Yes, the Jedis were as cruel as they seem to be in father's story. They wanted   
us to grow as orphans, to be as far apart from one another as possible, then   
they hoped that we would fight against our father and kill him," he continued,   
his voice growing angry at the thought of what Kenobi had dared tell him in his   
hut. "They didn't want to let Mother and us live with him; they lied to her   
about Father, and when she began to see the truth----"  
  
"Stop!" Leia snapped, obviously feeling more confused and distraught than ever.  
  
"How do you think Mother died?" Luke asked her.  
  
"He killed her," she answered, some of her anger creeping back into her voice as   
she tilted her head in her father's direction.  
  
"No, they killed her," Lord Vader corrected. "I tried to save her, but I was   
too late..."  
  
"Leia..." Luke continued, resting his hand on her shoulder. "I know the truth   
is shocking, but you have finally found your true family. Can you please give   
us a try?" he asked her earnestly.  
  
  
  
  
  
Leia's mind was spinning too wildly to think straight.   
  
First, she was related to the dark lord of the Sith who had destroyed her foster   
family, then her up-to-now unbeknown brother had betrayed her cause, and now...   
they were trying to convince her to join them?!  
  
"No," she answered adamantly, shrugging off Luke's hand while taking a step   
away from them. "I am not a Vader, never will be," she stated with finality.  
  
Luke sighed, as did his father.   
  
"Then, we have no choice but to restrain you until you change your mind,"   
Vader stated.  
  
"I will die before it happens," she snarled contemptuously.  
  
"You might be surprised," Luke commented cryptically at this before he took hold   
of her arm once more.  
  
He turned her away from the dark lord; her 'audience' seemed to be over, she   
noted mentally. Thanks the gods for that.  
  
The young man led her toward a secret door that was inset in a wall, then down a   
corridor and toward a small closet that was at the end of the corridor. He   
silently opened the door.   
  
"I'm sorry, Sister," he told her before giving her a light push to make her   
enter her cell.  
  
"For what?" she sneered as she resisted his prodding. "Darksider that you are,   
you'll probably enjoy this," she snarled, trying to kick him yet again.  
It didn't work; instead, she only made it easier for him to step inside the   
cubicle with her.  
  
"You're wrong," he shook his head as he stepped away from her. "And I'm sorry   
that I didn't find you earlier. That way, I wouldn't have hurt you as much as I   
have... but it was my duty, I had to do it," he tried to apologized.  
  
"It's too late for regrets, 'brother'," she snarled.   
  
"In my experience, it is never too late for anything," he answered her in   
surprising, most unusual wisdom. "I will see you later," he told her kindly,   
releasing her from her cuffs before stepping outside.  
  
"Don't bother." she muttered as her cell's door closed between them.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Luke stood in front of his former slave quarters and quickly meditated in the   
Force.  
  
Leia had to change her mind, he thought in rising worry. She couldn't refuse   
the heritage that was hers...  
  
And indeed she wouldn't, he saw with startling clarity, but it would take time   
and dedication, he then understood. He reopened his eyes, resolving to set to   
work on her as soon as he was back to normal.  
  
He returned in the anteroom where his father was gazing at the holos of the   
past.  
  
"You miss her, don't you?" Luke asked him softly.  
  
"Every day..." his father nodded slightly before turning off the screen that was   
displaying heart-poking holos of the past. "Has she calmed down?" he asked him.  
  
"Not really..." Luke shrugged. "She tried to attack me once again."   
  
His father shook his head as he chuckled slightly. "I've heard that siblings   
bickered between them, but this is getting slightly ridiculous," he commented   
wryly.  
  
"Yes," Luke agreed more seriously, "but you have to consider the more than   
particular situation," he reminded him even as memories of his own first meeting   
with his father came back to him. Back then... Vader hadn't learnt how to be a   
father yet... " If you remember," he began in slight sorrow, "I wasn't that   
happy to be with you at the beginning," he reminded him while he himself took a   
deep breath to forget those memories once again.  
  
His sole consolation in them, he still thought glumly, was that his own   
experience had served him and his father so that they wouldn't repeat the same   
mistakes with his sister.  
  
"Yes, I remember," his father nodded slightly, walking closer until he could   
stand very close to him. "But you learnt to accept it, then embraced your   
destiny," he reminded him as he stepped closer to him.  
  
"Yes, by discovering the real you," Luke nodded, closing his eyes against the   
painful memory of 'what' had been necessary to bring out his father in Vader.   
"So will she, Father," he promised him as he reopened his eyes, "but give her   
time." he finished wisely.  
  
"I will," his father reassured him. "However, I cannot foresee how much time   
the Emperor will give her." he pointed out seriously.  
  
He was right, Luke conceded. There was no telling how long their master would   
tolerate Leia's lack of collaboration, but, he reminded himself, the crisis was   
over now. The danger that was the Rebellion was over and done with.  
  
"I think he will give her time, Father," he said in his voice that always made   
him sound wiser than his years. "He won't feel threatened by her as long as she   
don't know how to use the Force, and with his latest victory, he might give us a   
free hand with her."  
  
"For a while, perhaps," his father agreed, then stepped slightly closer to him.  
  
Luke felt a change in his father demeanor, then could swear that he saw his   
gentle blue eyes despite his mask. Suddenly unsure as to what he had in mind,   
Luke stood silently; his father set his large hand on his still white-clothed   
shoulder.   
  
"It's good to have you back, Luke," he finally told him warmly in the cool   
silence. "I missed you."  
  
For a moment, it was Luke's turn to not know how to react to his father's   
actions, then he hesitantly set his hand on his father's hand even though a very   
small part of him couldn't help but remember what this man had done to him not   
so long ago.   
  
"It's good to be back, Father," he smiled softly. "I missed you too," he added   
truthfully.  
  
"I'm so proud of you, Son" his father continued, pride gushing out of his voice   
as he spoke. "No other servant would have been able to do what you have   
achieved," he commented, tightening his hold on his son's shoulder.  
  
For the briefest of moments, Luke wanted to hug his father like he had done when   
he had been younger, but he hadn't done so for years now, his more rational side   
reminded him. Ever since his graduation, they had forbidden it to keep him out   
of trouble, he suddenly remembered as some elements of his life returned to his   
more conscious mind now that he wasn't 'Skywalker' anymore.  
  
"I know, Father, but I won't do it again for a while," he added more   
lightly. "I feel like being myself for a while."  
  
"Of course." his father chuckled slightly in answer. "I don't think your taking   
a short break will be a problem, and I doubt that you will continue your career   
as an agent," he finished more seriously.   
  
"Why do you say that?" Luke asked him, frowning at this new element.  
  
No more missions as an agent? Then what about his team work with Mara, he   
instantly thought even as he realized that he had yet to see her as she had   
promised.  
  
"With your new identity, and the responsibilities that come with it," his father   
answered him, "I doubt that you'll spy like this anymore," he pointed out.  
  
"Well, you never know..." Luke mused out loud. "With a good hair cut, a dye and   
a few other changes, nobody would recognize me," he said even as he hoped that   
this mission, which he had so wanted to get and accomplish, hadn't been his last   
one on the field.   
  
He didn't want to be separated from his lover like this. The last months had   
been difficult enough to bear.  
  
"Perhaps," his father shrugged, "but do you really want to do that again? Take   
such considerable risk?" he then pointed out grimly. "I would think that you   
have had enough already," he finished very seriously.  
  
Luke knew what had just crossed his father's mind: their latest, common   
challenge.  
  
"Father," he began gently, lightly touching his father's forearm in reassurance.   
"it wasn't your fault, nor was it your doing, I know that now," he told him   
warmly even though a very small part of him hadn't made that dichotomy yet.   
"Just like I was the master's tool in this mission, so were you," he reminded   
him gently. "Besides, I was not well prepared---"  
  
"Luke," his father interrupted him, setting both of his hands on his shoulders,   
"there was no possible preparation for what you suffered at my hands. If I had   
truly cared about you," he then berated himself out loud, "I wouldn't have   
caused you as much physical torment as I did... I would have found another way   
to do it," he finished in genuine regret.  
  
For a moment, Luke didn't know how to answer to his father's comment about not   
caring enough. What did he mean by this, he wondered? For years now, he hadn't   
questioned himself whether his father loved him or not. They only used the word   
care so as to keep 'him' out of emotional trouble, but, he admitted, deep down,   
they both knew that they more than cared about each other. Their relationship   
was a father/son love, nothing less. Sure, he then conceded, their latest   
mutual challenge had put this love to test, but they also both knew that they   
equally resented being the cause of pain for their loved one.   
  
  
"You did care, Father," he finally reassured him, locking his gaze with his   
father's. "You stopped it before the master's dead line... And you did   
intervene when the troops disobeyed you," he reminded him while he himself tried   
once again to not dwell in his bad memories. "I shouldn't have called you   
names..." he finished, lowering his head in shame as he remembered the insults   
he had screamed at his father, the hatred he had felt when he had vented his   
feelings on him...   
  
His father delicately lifted his chin with his fingers. Even though his mask   
was unexpressive, Luke could feel his sadness, his desire to make it up to   
him... his compassion.  
  
"I have forgiven you weeks ago, Son," he reassured him in turn. "Will you   
someday forgive me for what I did to you?" he inquired gently.  
  
Tears instantly gathered up in Luke eyes, the little scared boy inside him   
finally finding the comfort that no one but his father could offer. He wanted   
to tell him that yes, he would forgive him, but his throat was suddenly choked   
up by his intense feelings of remorse, forgiveness and happiness. Then, he was   
so emotionally unbalanced that he didn't resist when his father drew him in him   
embrace, as if he were a little boy once again. But in a way, he reflected   
dimly as his scarred psyche reveled in the balm of comfort that finally   
enveloped him, he was.  
  
As he silently hugged his father, shameful tears continued to flow down his   
cheeks; he didn't try to contain them, he now knew that they were necessary.   
The longer his father held him, and the more he understood just 'how' he had   
truly reacted to their last meeting. The small, vulnerable part of his mind,   
which he could compare to a six-year-old child, had not only been unable to   
differentiate his father from the Emperor's tool, but he had also awakened his   
long-forgotten fear of him, like when he had terrified him from ever angering   
him ever again... And unconsciously, he had remained that scared little child   
until now.  
  
"I understand, Son," his father crooned reassuringly as he held him close and   
shared his thoughts with him.   
  
Luke remained silent, feeling totally safe in his father's hold. That was   
something he hadn't felt since his bad experience, afraid that it would   
never be the same between them, he admitted, but he had been wrong. Things   
would continue to be the same now that he was back. It had only been a mission,   
and his master's punishment for his misbehavior.  
  
"I forgive you, Father." he sobbed. "I'm sorry and I forgive you," he repeated,   
feeling the need to say it again.  
  
His father still didn't comment on his emotional display; he simply held him   
while mentally reassuring him that he was still his one and only favorite son.  
Luke finally drew away from his father's hold, quickly brushing his shameful   
tears from his eyes. Dimly, he made a note that those were the last ones he   
would ever shed; dark Lords didn't cry.  
  
As if to lighten the mood, his father said: "If you ever have another mission   
like this, Luke, I'm not letting you destroy anything that belongs to the   
master."  
  
Luke understood his attempt and flew with it.  
  
"Don't worry, Father, I learnt my lesson," he assured him, quickly recovering   
his cooler edge. "I won't even have any urge to ask for a new mission for a   
long while," he then added seriously.   
  
"Understandable," his father nodded, glad to be help him change the subject.   
"You probably have had your fill of rebellions."  
  
"That I do," Luke nodded in agreement even as he remembered some particular   
things he still didn't know how he had bore with.   
  
"I must have been disgusting," his father commented in the new silence.  
  
"Barely less than the garbage compactor we were stuck in," Lukee commented   
wryly, "except that it lasted for far longer."   
  
He then sighed and brushed his hair with his hands. All the things he had been   
Through, he thought wistfully, but they were completely behind him now.  
  
"You know what?" he inquired, locking his gaze with his father once again. "I'm   
really glad that this mission is over," he smiled in satisfaction. "And not   
just because I was very eager to get out of their pitiful world."  
  
"I know," Vader nodded in understanding. "I brought you some appropriate   
clothes; they are in your assigned room."  
  
Luke's eyes lit up at the idea to not only be back to his old self without   
delay, but to also dress as who he truly was, not as a slave anymore.   
  
"Thanks, I'll get those off then," he informed him even as he turned away to   
leave.   
  
"I will be on the bridge to supervise the destruction of the last ships," his   
father told him behind him.   
  
On his way to the inner door of his father's quarters, Luke reflected that he   
was glad that his father was here to take care of these last details. He   
himself didn't want to deal with anything that would remind him of his rebel   
experience, at least for a while. Of course, he then amended, he would   
eventually have to face his sister, but she was another matter. She wasn't a   
rebel anymore, only a misguided family member.  
  
Luke had almost reached the secret door when his father spoke again from the   
other side of the room.  
  
"Once again, congratulations, Son, and welcome back."  
  
"Thanks, Father," he smiled proudly, then disappeared inside the secret   
quarters.  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
On Coruscant, the Emperor turned off the audio function of his   
transmitter, then steepled his fingers together and considered what he had just   
heard.  
  
First and foremost, there was no turning back; the boy was now out of the   
shadows, with all the consequences it would have for him. However, considering   
the emotional moment he had just 'witnessed' between father and son, he doubted   
that the boy would 'please' him long enough to truly take command of troops. He   
might have twirled the Rebels around his little finger, he thought in contempt,   
but it only proved that he was in control of his abilities. He hadn't proven to   
him that he could take the responsibility of a complete battalion of troops, let   
alone command the fleet like his father did.   
  
For a moment, he debated whether to devote his energies on making him fail and   
publicly humiliate him, which would then explain his disappearing once again,   
then he reflected that it would be much more entertaining to watch him trip on   
his own. On the other hand, once it would happen, he would take severe actions   
against him and would shove him back in the shadows, where he belonged given his   
sickening Jedi compassion.  
  
Second in his mind, he then continued, was the discussion he had just heard   
between the two Vader. The child was softening his father, he thought in   
disgust. When he had specifically ordered Vader to conduct the boy's   
punishment, his motivation had been to teach him to never put the boy's fate in   
front of his devotion to their master, him, but instead, he had the feeling that   
he had strengthened the bond that existed between the two of them. He made a   
note to keep them apart upon their return. He would not lose the control he had   
on his right hand because of the son, he resolved angrily. Instead, he would   
tighten his grip on both of them, but separately, and would keep them apart for   
as long as they hadn't banished 'love' from their----  
  
His glorious train of thoughts came to a halt as yet another new element entered   
his world of perfect control: the girl. Considering how the two men had spoken   
about her and how they would try to convert her, he understood that trying to   
make them banish love from their lives would be useless as long as she would   
live. The boy already had brotherly feelings for her, he knew, and Vader... The   
fool would probably fall for her just as he had fallen for his wife years ago.   
That new child, he decided with irritation, could very well ruin everything he   
had planned for his 'two' dark Lords, but no, he silently challenged the vision   
of her getting through to her family members, he would 'not' allow her to   
destroy what he had been preparing for years.  
  
He resolved to take actions against her the moment she would be 'brought' to   
him.   
  
  
  
To be continued in part 18: Brother and Sister  
  
Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)   
(Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff won't even be read.) 


	18. part 18: Brother and Sister

Luke Vader  
Part 18: Brother and sister  
By SJ 21-11-00/12-12-00  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving me some of your   
precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
  
  
Luke's dirty shirt was off of his person before he had finished to cross the   
frame of the door of the room his father chose for him; he bunched the piece of   
clothe up and threw it in a corner. Someday, he admitted to himself, it might   
be useful again, but for the moment, he didn't want to see it again. He equally   
stripped off his boots and trousers, also threw them in a corner, then opened   
his closet.   
  
A strong body instantly jumped on him and tackled him to the floor, thus   
knocking his breath out of his lungs. His lover caught his breath with a deep,   
hungry kiss.  
  
*Welcome back, Luke,* she sent him with all her feelings for him.  
  
*Hmm, are you sure this is not an assassination attempt?* he joked half-  
seriously.   
  
He 'was' feeling dizzy from lack of oxygen. They reluctantly put an end to   
their kiss.  
  
"Positive," she smiled down, her loose hair framing the right side of her   
beautiful face.  
  
"Good, then let's resume it," he smiled, pulling her back to his lips.   
  
*I heard that the princess is still here,* the young woman commented after a   
while, slight jealousy creeping through their bond.  
  
Luke interrupted their kiss to gaze at her.  
  
"You know about this already?" he raised an eyebrow in surprise.  
  
"I know about everything that I need to know, 'farmboy'," she teased him   
seriously.   
  
"Don't call me that, please," he pouted at the moniker the rebels had used for   
him.  
  
"Why? I kinda like it, farmboy," she smirked at his discomfiture.  
  
Aware that he wouldn't make her change her mind, Luke sighed in acceptance.   
Someday, perhaps, she would forget it.  
  
"So why is the princess here?" his girlfriend inquired more seriously.  
  
"Because I finally found out why I've always been intrigued by her," he   
answered her more lightly.  
  
"And?" she prompted him.  
  
"She's my sister," he smiled wistfully.  
  
Unlike his father, Mara couldn't hide her reactions behind a mask; he almost   
laughed at the face she made upon hearing those news.  
  
"You---your what?" she finally stuttered.   
  
"My sister," he repeated. "We were separated at birth, but we ran a DNA test   
and she 'is' my twin. She's also strong in the Force."  
  
Mara slowly digested this, their kisses forgotten as she leaned up and straddled   
his stomach  
  
"So what's the plan now?" she finally asked, barely able to hide her   
disappointment to have the princess nearby.  
  
"Father and I will try to mellow her enough to add her to our family," Luke   
answered simply. "Considering her years of opposition against the master, it   
might take some doing, but we are confident that she will see the truth in   
time."  
  
Or so he hoped anyway.  
  
Jade considered his words carefully, seemed to weight the fors and againsts,   
then she smirked slightly at him.  
  
"Your sister, huh?" she asked with some amusement as she realized that the   
situation wasn't as it used to be anymore. "I always knew she wouldn't be any   
competition for me," she smiled lustfully before capturing his lips with her   
own.  
  
*Never doubted it either,* Luke returned while he pulled her even closer to   
himself. *Say, I was going to take a shower,* he informed her through the   
Force. *Care to join me?*  
  
His hands began to pull her jacket open; she helped him by peeling it off of   
her body with the Force.   
  
*As long as you let me wash you, hero of the day,* she told him lustfully.  
  
*Like in the old Greem society, huh?* he teased her. *Well, if you want to   
serve me, how can I refuse?*   
  
*You can't,* she assured him even as she pulled him back to a sitting position.  
  
Slowly, while not breaking their kiss, they stood back to their feet and slowly   
kissed and shuffled their way into his 'fresher, leaving their remaining clothes   
in their wake.   
  
Finally, Luke sighed in bliss, he was home.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Not far from there, Leia sat in the completely dark cell.  
  
Well, more like a closet, she reflected sarcastically. A closet that wasn't   
giving her any clue as to how long she had been there. It was furnished with   
what felt like a simple cot, a blanket, and four, close by walls. She could lay   
on her back on the cot, but she had to be careful about not hitting her head or   
her feet on the nearby walls. When she stretched her arms to the sides, her   
hands almost brushed the two other walls.  
  
At the moment, she was sitting against a wall, considering yet again the events   
of the day.  
  
This had to be the most unhappy day of her life, she thought glumly for the   
hundredth time since her brother had locked her up.   
  
First, she had lost her cause, then she had lost her friend, and finally, she   
had lost her innocence. She was Vader's daughter... The vile, dark monster who   
had tortured her and who had stood behind her as they had destroyed her home   
planet... was her father.  
  
Then, as if it wasn't enough knowledge to deal with, the young man she had   
always considered as her savior had in fact been a traitor... and her brother...  
His being an imperial explained many things though: their escape from the Death   
Star, his destroying the same Death Star, their numerous, ensuing narrow   
escapes, all the bases that had fallen after those incidents... they had been   
'his' doing...  
  
And she, most foolish rebel leader who had ever lived, had never seen past his   
naive front.   
  
She should have though, she berated herself.   
  
She should have. But of course, she had felt so close to him that she had been   
blinded... The young man had always been there to comfort her when she had   
needed it, and, curse her heart, she had always felt good in his presence.  
  
Because he had been her long-lost brother, she then understood. For a moment,   
she pondered if she would have betrayed him if she had known the truth during   
the Rebellion. At first, she angrily reflected that he would have deserved   
whatever the others would have done to her, then, she amended that thought. She   
would have tried to reform him, she admitted truthfully.  
  
Just like, she then realized, he was probably hoping to do with her... but about   
the Empire. Her blood froze in her veins at the thought of her ever becoming a   
will-less slave like her father and brother, then the fire of her hatred warmed   
her up again.  
  
Her brother could try anything he wanted, she resolved adamantly; she would   
never join the Empire. They had killed her family---- Or was her family the   
traitor and she had been too brain-washed to see the truth for what it was?---   
she wondered in sudden horror as the new possibility suddenly came to her mind.  
No, she shook her head in denial. The Organa had loved her as if she had been   
their own, and her mother, her mother... she had been so sad all the time, she   
glumly remembered, so... empty...   
  
Now she knew why, she realized. She too now knew the horrible secret that her   
mother she had had to keep from everybody, even her own child...   
  
The loss of her other child and husband.  
  
But, Leia wondered in growing concern, had her mother truly known things about   
her father which had made her want to return to the monster he now was?.. Had   
the Jedis really isolated her from her husband because he had been a danger   
to her and the children... or to them?..  
  
She would never know, she supposed, since the Jedis were extinct now. One thing   
was sure though; she could now relate to her mother's sadness.   
  
Life was unfair.  
  
  
  
  
  
Later, although Leia didn't know how much later, Leia's door swished open,   
startling her out of her reverie. She squinted against the light that was   
coming from outside.   
  
What was it this time?.. she wondered. Nobody seemed to be standing in the   
entrance. Could she try to escape? she thought in renewed hope even as she   
brought her feet under her to stand up.   
  
"Are you going to spend the rest of the day in there?" Luke's voice asked her.   
"Come on, we have to talk," he then prompted her almost eagerly.   
  
As if they were still friends, she noticed.  
  
"Do we?" she sneered, recovering her sitting position.  
  
"Yes," he told her, still not stepping into view. "We can do it here if you   
prefer, but I thought it would be more comfortable to sit in the living room,"   
he diligently explained to her.  
  
"And what makes you think that I will talk with you?" she challenged. "How can   
you be sure that I don't want to escape?"  
  
Luke's voice became more serious, more... dangerous, she decided, exactly like   
when he had mentioned his torture, she then remembered.   
  
"I assure you that any attempt to escape would be completely useless, Sister."   
he told her warningly.   
  
Upon hearing this, she decided that she was probably better to not push his   
limits. She didn't move from her spot while she continued to study her chances   
of escape.  
  
When Luke understood that she wasn't coming out anytime soon, he finally stepped   
closer in the entrance, allowing her to see him; she gasped despite herself.  
  
No wonder that he hadn't shown himself to her just yet, she conceded in slight   
fear. Whereas he had always worn whites or tan fatigues, he was now wearing a   
completely black, leather dress uniform that left no doubt as to his true   
identity. The only thing on him that wasn't black was his lightsaber which was   
dangling at his hip, a silent, deactivated threat.  
  
Luke Vader, servant of the galactic Emperor, was speaking to her now.   
  
"You wouldn't go as far as a step away before you were stopped," he warned her.   
"Better cooperate, don't you think?"  
  
Unable to stand the sight of the traitor, she forgot her fear and resolve to not   
move---and lunged at him. He swiftly swiveled his torso; she shot past him,   
then he easily tripped her and pinned her under himself in one, agile move...yet   
didn't cause her any pain, not even with her fall.  
  
As she tried to free herself from him, she dimly noticed that he didn't seem   
upset by her attack, as if he had expected her to do so, she realized.  
  
"That was childish and too easy, even for you," he commented coolly while   
holding her wrists in a strong grip between the two of them.  
  
She continued her attempts to free herself from his weight, to no avail of   
course. While she continued to struggle, it quickly dawned on her that she had   
no real choice but to accept his invitation; she obviously wasn't going anywhere   
anyway. Besides, she reminded herself, she would be punishing herself is she   
didn't cooperate in this case.   
  
As she was now discovering, the cold deck was far from comfortable.  
  
"All right", she growled, putting an end to her straining against him. "Let's   
take this family chit-chat to the living room, 'brother'," she sneered   
sarcastically.  
  
Luke flashed her a smile, temporarily dissolving the image of her dark brother   
to replace it by that of her ex-best friend, then he gently pulled her back to   
her feet in one strong yet delicate move.   
  
Next, he invited her to walk at his side. While she accepted his invitation,   
she noticed that he was between her and the door that led in the anteroom. It   
denoted one more thing about her stranger of a brother; he was a professional at   
whatever he did besides destroying rebellions.  
  
A door opened upon their approach; she stepped through it, her brother right on   
her heels----- and stopped in her tracks when she saw the rich decoration of the   
room. The walls were covered with carved, dark wood, the floor was covered by a   
soft-looking carpet and the furniture was, well...  
  
"Worthy of a comfortable household, isn't it?" Luke asked her from her side.  
  
She turned toward him, startled to hear him complete her thought, then glared at   
him. Was he in her head now?, she wondered angrily.  
  
"Please have a seat," he told her in a most gentleman-like manner before she had   
time to seethe at him for reading her thoughts.  
  
Instead, she refocused on yet another new aspect of his personality. If she   
didn't know who he was, she conceded, she might have thought that he was a rich   
aristocrat in search of a conquest. She sat in the chair that was closest to   
the door. Luke sat on the couch that was in front of her, then slightly   
slouched.  
  
She used the silence to study him yet again; he seemed to appreciate the moment,   
she reflected, as if he had really missed his environment. If he had, she then   
estimated, then it made him materialistic.  
  
She added it on her mental notepad.  
  
"It's good to be back home," he told her with a slight small, as if aware of her   
scrutinizing study.  
  
Materialistic indeed, she noted on her pad. She continued to evaluate him.  
  
"You want to ask tons of questions," he told her matter-of-factly while he   
straightened to lean his elbows on his knees.   
  
"Really?" she sneered while drawing away from him. "Is reading my mind   
interesting?" she glared.  
  
His voice gentled. "I don't need to read your mind to read your heart," he told   
her. "You look exactly like I did when I first met Father," he then commented,   
slightly turning his eyes downward at this.   
  
Number two, she noted, clever.   
  
Number three, sensitive, for a darksider, then she decided to exploit his   
obvious openness and prick at the memory that seemed to sadden him.  
  
"All right then, answer this: how did you end up with him?" she asked as   
she defiantly crossed her arms in front of her chest.  
  
If he was as clever as he seemed, she thought that he would understand that she   
was playing along, but only to know him better. He wasn't winning her over.  
  
"He bought me," her brother answered her seriously, his eyes glazing slightly as   
he went back in time in his mind.  
  
"Bought?" she gaped despite herself, unfolding her arms in shock. "As in...   
slavery?"  
  
Luke took a deep breath at this, his eyes gazing at the floor as he nodded.  
  
"He wasn't responsible for it. I had been kidnapped and enslaved... He   
just showed up at the bidding... probably under the guidance of the Force," Luke   
told her in a distant voice. "Being bought by him has been my most terrifying   
experience to this day," he admitted truthfully.  
  
While Leia reflected that anybody would be terrified to be purchased by Vader,   
it led her to wonder how the terrified boy had come to 'be' Vader's son and   
happy to be so.  
  
"How old were you?" she asked, forgetting her wariness.  
  
Now, she wanted to know him.  
  
"Six and a half," he informed her.   
  
A mere child, she realized...   
  
Four, she noted with surprising compassion, he had had a tough past.  
  
"What happened next?" she asked him. "Did he tell you right away?"  
  
"No. To protect me from the Emperor's wrath, he took his time to raise me and   
teach me what I had to know to survive my first encounter with the Emperor," he   
explained with genuine gratitude in his voice.  
  
"What do you mean?" she asked, this time puzzled.   
  
How could a first encounter be lethal for a child?.., she wondered uneasily  
  
"I was rebellious, Leia," he told her, meeting her eyes this time. "I was   
headstrong, defiant, disrespectful... and I was strong in the Force."  
  
Leia was flabbergasted as she understood what he was trying to tell her. Hurt a   
mere child??, she wanted to ask indignantly.  
  
"Did he free you to teach you those things?" she asked in genuine if horrified   
interest.  
  
"No," He shook his head.  
  
"Then how did he teach---" she began incredulously.  
  
"Through my servitude," Luke explained. "While I was serving him, I learnt how   
to use the Force, how to defer, how to fight, and a few other basic skills."   
  
Leia had slowly began to scowl during his accounting. The thought that a mere   
child would go through all this and worse at his father's hand...   
  
His father's...  
  
"He freed me on the day of my ninth anniversary," her brother continued as if he   
were retelling a most normal story. "after I proved my worth as a future   
imperial servant."   
  
Luke then smiled wistfully at her, horrifying her even more than she was upon   
realization that the said 'child' was even proud and grateful for what his   
father had done to him. Vader had treated him as a slave, for Force's sake!,   
she wanted to yell at him.  
  
Then she noticed that Luke's smile softened slightly, as if sensing how   
distraught she was by his tale.  
  
"Don't worry," he tried to reassure her, "by then, he had shown me a lot of   
consideration. I myself was even thinking of him as my guardian, not as my   
master, and certainly not a slaver or a tyrant anymore."  
  
Five, he was a comedian, she decided angrily as she understood where he was   
going with this. He was just trying to seduce her once more.  
  
"Oh, you'll make me cry," she sneered, foregoing whatever opening she had begun   
to feel toward him. "Vader doesn't feel any feelings; he doesn't have any   
heart," she pointed out coldly.  
  
"For the others, yes, I agree, and so am I," he informed her, "but inside the   
family, it is completely different. I can still remember the number of evenings   
that we spent star gazing, or chatting about trivial subject, then all the hugs   
he gave me when I was a child. He does have feelings," he assured her   
adamantly.   
  
"If he cares this much, 'brother'," she snickered, "how do you explain the marks   
that you have on your back," she demanded meanly. "I know that you lied to me   
about them."  
  
She was glad to see him falter slightly... but not too much either.   
  
"That was at the beginning, and they are not all his," he explained seriously,   
"Some were part of my imperial training. He wasn't there when it happened."  
  
"Except for the last time of course." she meanly reminded him.  
  
Luke's warm gaze suddenly cooled down a few degrees, giving Leia a glimpse to   
what her brother was capable of as far as feelings were concerned. He could   
care, but he could hate as well.  
  
"'That' wasn't his doing," he informed her slowly, very seriously. "It was the   
fault of the Rebellion. He and I were the Emperor's tools in this operation.   
It was our duty to masquerade that."  
  
"Yet you were hurt for real---" she began to argue.  
  
"Because I deserved it," he cut her off, his cool temper slowly giving way to a   
more heated discussion. "I had no right to destroy the master's Death Star,   
even to save you." he glared at her.   
  
Leia glared back, using that silent moment to study that new data.   
  
Her brother was obviously holding some kind of grudge against the Emperor for   
hurting him through Vader, but at the same time, she understood, he wouldn't   
turn against the man, not even to complain about his treatment.  
  
Six, he was loyal to the Emperor.  
  
Leia decided to drop the subject; instead, she came back on the caring topic  
  
"I still won't believe that you are able to care after what you did to the   
rest of the galaxy and the rebellion," she told him defiantly.  
  
He shrugged. "Still, you now know that it is part of our private lives..."  
  
"I don't---" she began to argue.  
  
"How else do you explain that you are in my former slave quarters instead of the   
regular holding pens?" he demanded seriously, having recovered his cooler   
attitude.  
  
Seven, he was cold but diplomat.  
  
"So that you can twist my heart more easily," she spat, although she wasn't that   
convinced anymore.  
  
She could somehow feel that her brother cared about her; he wanted to save her   
from pain and death, just as he had promised her, she remembered once again. At   
least, she then reflected, that much was clear through their strange, unwilling   
bond.  
  
  
  
  
  
Luke sighed in resignation. In time, he reminded himself.   
  
"All right, let's do this another way. Ask me your questions," he offered   
her. "No matter what they are, I will answer them."  
  
"No matter what they are?" she asked him dubiously.  
  
"Yes," he nodded resolutely.  
  
He watched her furrow her delicate brows as she considered his proposal, then   
she pinned him once more with her nutty gaze.  
  
"Tell me who you really are," she asked seriously.   
  
"Who I am?" he tilted his head in confusion.  
  
"Ever since I met you, I keep running into different Lukes," she explained   
quickly.  
  
He laughed at her figure of speech.   
  
"Well, I've been trained to be a man with many faces... I am, or rather was," he   
corrected himself as he remembered his new status. "a secret agent for the   
Emperor. With my partner, I spied, I stole information, I did whatever the   
master wanted us to do. I will still do it if it is his wish," he told her   
seriously.  
  
While he had enumerated his typical mission, he had noticed the slight, shocked   
widening of her eyes but at the same time, she had seemed to expect this. She   
already had a good control over her emotions, he noted with interest.  
  
"You forgot to say that you're also a dark Jedi," she added sarcastically.  
  
"Yes, I am, and I'm proud of it," he smiled, then added: "I finished the   
training when I was nine years old."  
  
"Nine?! I never---" she gaped, then fell silent as if she had revealed   
something she hadn't meant to.   
  
Luke understood that she knew about the Jedi order.  
  
"Where did you learn about the Jedi traditions, Leia?" he inquired in interest.  
  
She slightly hesitated, as if pondering whether to answer him or not, then she   
said: "My father told me."  
  
Sudden tears brimmed into her eyes at this, showing how fresh the scar of that   
loss still was.  
  
"I'm sorry..." he apologized earnestly. "I didn't mean to bring that up again.   
What else do you want to know?" he offered, genuinely hoping to change the   
topic.  
  
She gaped slightly at him, obviously surprised by his kindness, but she quickly   
recovered her cool defiance.   
  
"What do you plan to do with me. I'm sure 'Dad' has told you about his plans,"   
she snarled.   
  
"Except keeping you with us, nothing," he admitted.  
  
"Nothing?!" she asked, incredulous.  
  
"Nothing," he repeated. "In time, we hope that we will be able to trust you and   
let you free. When this will happen, you will be free to choose what you want   
to do with your new life, but until then, we have to protect you."  
  
"Protect me???? From what?! Influences from the regular world?!" she snickered   
sarcastically.  
  
"From the Emperor," he corrected. "Every new Jedi potential represents a threat   
to him," he explained, making sure that she understood what he was trying to   
tell her.  
  
She obviously did; she remained mute even as her beautiful features paled in   
worry--- then her eyes suddenly hardened.   
  
"Then he will simply destroy me," she finished defiantly, resignedly, ready to   
accept her fate.  
  
"No," he shook his head in denial, both for her and himself. "Your being with   
us will ensure his feeling of security, hence, your safety," he explained   
earnestly.  
  
"But I won't be free," she reminded him with a glare. "I'd rather die than be a   
slave," she stated defiantly.  
  
"Do you really want to escape from us, Leia?" he asked her seriously.  
  
"You bet I---"  
  
If reasoning wasn't working, he thought seriously, he was going to demonstrate   
the strength of their bond.  
  
"Do you remember how you felt three days ago when you slept on me?" he asked   
her, leaning forward once again.   
  
"That wasn't---"  
  
"significant?" Luke suggested, using the word she had in mind.  
  
"It was---" she slightly hesitated.  
  
"My doing?" he suggested again.  
  
Her eyes threw laser bolts at him as she understood what he had just done. He   
himself had known that a little push had been necessary, but he had never   
thought that she would catch on it this fast.  
  
"Why you inconsiderate darksider!" she exploded while leaning closer to him.   
"Get out of my head, now!" she ordered, shoving her finger near his face in   
warning.  
  
"Calm down." he soothed her, gently lowering her hand from his face. "I   
apologize for this, but I wanted to demonstrate how far our link goes. I am not   
in your head, Leia... not anymore than you are in mine."  
  
"What do you mean in yours?" she queried with barely receding animosity.  
  
"You felt my pains, remember?" he reminded her.  
  
"Yeah, but---" she began.  
  
"And you instinctively knew that we were close to one another, that you   
could trust me," he added.  
  
"I---" his sister tried to argue, but she was speechless.  
  
"You came to me after the medal ceremony, remember? And you came to me all the   
other times afterward. You became friend with me in no time," he continued   
earnestly.  
  
"Because of your simulated personality." she tried to argue.  
  
"Because of our family bond, Leia..." he corrected gently. "I was too naive to   
really be your friend and you know it; it was something else."  
  
A moment of silence followed this analysis; Leia broke it a few seconds   
later.  
  
"Our twin relationship..." she whispered as if afraid to admit the truth.  
  
"Yes." he nodded in heartfelt agreement.   
  
Would she understand and accept it? he wondered earnestly. He tried to give her   
one more reason to believe it.  
  
"Do you want to know what was one of my hobbies for a long while?" he offered   
her softly.  
  
"What?" she shrugged.   
  
"Collecting holos and data about you," he admitted, blushing slightly in   
foolishness even as he tried to not remember the last time his master had caught   
him caring 'too' much about the then unknown princess... who was now gazing at   
him in disbelief.   
  
"What?!" she gaped, leaning back in her armchair.   
  
For a brief moment, Luke wondered if he were unknowingly repeating the mistakes   
of the past about Leia, then he dismissed his fear as illogical. His master   
would have not allow him to save his sister if he hadn't wanted him to use their   
bond the way he was doing at the moment.  
  
He refocused on the young woman, who still couldn't imagine a young dark Jedi   
collecting holos about a princess. Well, he conceded more lightly, neither   
could his girlfriend.  
  
"Yes, I did," he nodded in confirmation. "I've never been able to explain it,   
until now... Once we're back home, I'll show it to you if you want."  
  
"And how will I know that it isn't something that you did to prepare for your   
mission?" she asked him, still slightly defiant.  
  
Because he had stashed it so far away that even 'he' hadn't taken a look at it   
for years, he wanted to tell her in slight, sudden animosity to her reaction,   
but he changed his mind.  
  
"Do you feel any lie in my words?" he inquired seriously, his voice slightly   
harder than he had first intended, but then, he reflected, his 'logbook' had   
caused him much trouble. The mere mention of it got to him.  
  
His sister sighed heavily in frustration; he understood that had made his point.  
  
"No," she finally admitted out loud. "but I can't say that they're very   
reassuring either," she muttered unhappily.  
  
Luke impulsively rested his hand on her shoulder, hoping to reassure her.   
  
"You still see us as monsters, Leia, and I understand. Nobody but Father,   
myself, the Emperor and Mara know that we aren't heartless," he explained   
seriously, his temper once again under perfect control.  
  
She frowned at his words.   
  
"Mara?"  
  
"My partner," he explained, then sighed as he stood up. "I guess what I'm   
trying to ask is: can you please give us time to prove to you that we are more   
than we look?" he asked her earnestly. "You don't have to decide today about   
the future... For the moment, you can just watch us as a family and make your   
judgement from what you see and feel, not what you know," he offered her, hoping   
to convince her to at least cooperate with them to save her life.  
  
He himself knew that it would be a first step toward becoming a servant for   
their master as well as a full member of their family.  
  
  
  
  
  
Leia was speechless in front of such a wise offer... The most infuriating thing   
of course was that he was right. She 'could' study them and confirm her   
judgment that way, but, she admitted to herself, she was afraid that her   
brother's words would come true. She was afraid to break and join her 'family'.   
  
"Leia..." he said again, lightly resting his hand on her shoulder.   
  
She looked up and met with the kindest eyes she had ever seen in her whole life.   
  
"Trust your heart, please..." he gently told her.  
  
And her heart, he probably knew, was telling her that she could trust her true   
'family'. Well, perhaps not her father, but her brother... she could feel that   
she could trust him...   
  
She had known that ever since he had barged in her detention block, she   
reluctantly admitted. Despite the fact that he had been a spy who was going to   
use her to infiltrate the Rebellion, she had instinctively trusted him. In   
fact, she had always felt that deep trust whenever she had been close to him,   
when she had huddled against him in search of comfort... and even after   
he had revealed his true self, she realized, she had been tempted to lean   
against his close-by body and just trust him.  
  
Her assaults on him, she then understood, hadn't been caused by a lack of trust,   
but by her dark anger... She didn't know yet about her father, but despite what   
her brother had done to her cause and herself, she was ready to give him a   
chance.   
  
If a very slight one.  
  
"All right, Luke," she nodded. "I will give you one chance to show yourself   
worthy of our bond," she told him haughtily, falling back in the manners of the   
court of Alderaan. "And I will trust 'my' feelings."  
  
She expected him to be irked by her arrogance, but instead, he smiled in   
happiness.   
  
"You will not regret it, Leia. I promise you won't regret it."  
  
He offered her his hand to help her up from the armchair.   
  
"Do you give me your word that you won't try to escape?" he asked her as she   
stood up.  
  
"As I understand, it would be useless, right?" she asked him seriously.  
  
"Right. Come, I'll show around and which room you can have if you want to."  
  
  
  
  
Still holding her hand, he shifted his hold, then led her back into the corridor   
where he explained to her the security grid that was around the main door, then   
led her to his own, well-furbished room in his father's quarters.   
  
He opened the door.   
  
"It will be more comfortable than the closet," he told her as he entered.   
  
"Hey, Flyboy---" Mara began, then stopped short as she spotted the petite   
brunette who was following him.   
  
Leia also stopped in her tracks in surprise. She obviously hadn't expected to   
find a beautiful woman in her brother's room. Luke introduced the two young   
women to one another.  
  
"Mara, this is my sister, Leia. Leia, this is my partner, Mara Jade."  
  
He chuckled inwardly as the two young women sized each other up for a few more   
seconds.   
  
"Pleased to meet you, Mara," Leia finally said coolly.  
  
"The same, I'm sure," Mara retorted, walking closer to the twins. "Can I speak   
with you for a moment, flyboy?" she then asked her boyfriend.   
  
"Sure." He turned toward his sister. "Excuse us a moment," he told her before   
following his girlfriend in the corridor.   
  
*What do you think you're doing?* Mara asked him through the Force while she   
glared at him.  
  
*I'm trying to show her around. What's wrong with this?* he asked her.  
  
*You told her about us!* she exclaimed in disbelief.  
  
*Yes,* he shrugged as if it her identity wouldn't matter much to his sister. *If   
we want to gain her trust, we have to trust her first. Besides, with my cover   
blown up, she knows that I'm a spy.*  
  
*You still didn't have to tell her about me,* Mara growled, frustrated.   
  
Luke took her hand in his own. *Mara, come on, it's not this bad... She won't   
tell your secret to anybody else anyway.*  
  
He was relieved to hear her sight in acceptance of his logic.  
  
*Will you spend all your time with her now?* she then asked, slight animosity   
creeping back into her voice.  
  
Luke's lips twitched into a smirk.  
  
*Am I mistaken or are you jealous of my sister?* he asked, pulling her closer to   
himself. *I thought that she wasn't any competition for you,* he teased her.  
*Well, what do you think, farmboy? You've been fascinated by her for years,   
which got you in trouble by the way, and you now have her with you, and---*  
  
Luke interrupted her tirade with a deep kiss.   
  
*I love you, Mara, and only you. I don't want to kiss her; I want to kiss you,*   
he sent with all his passion and love. *I don't want to spend all my life with   
her; I want to spend it with you.*   
  
His lover twined her arms around his neck and deepened their kiss, forgetting   
all her arguments about caring too much and having to check with the Emperor   
first.   
  
  
  
  
In the still opened door, Leia watched them silently, startled to witness such a   
display of love in the heart of the Empire.   
  
Even though she wasn't trained yet, she could feel the deep love that was   
radiating from her brother and his lover, leaving no doubt that it was true   
love, not just a physical thing.  
  
If her brother was able to love a woman like that, she slowly mused, then he was   
probably able to love on a simpler level too... and if 'he' could do that,   
then..., she sigh in reluctant acceptance, Vader might also be able to at least   
care, although she would believe this part when she'd see it, she resolved.  
  
When her brother returned alone, she pretended to have inspected the room.   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
To be continued in part 19: Daughter  
  
  
Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)   
(Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff won't even be read.) 


	19. part 19: Daughter

Luke Vader  
Part 19: Daughter  
By SJ 21-11-00/12-12-00  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving me some of your   
precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
  
  
After showing Leia her new room, Luke showed her the rest of the quarters, then   
they spoke some more as they gazed at the stars that could be seen through the   
bay window of the training room.   
  
The more she talked with him, the more Leia realized that on the outside, her   
brother was like a well-oiled, calibrated machine, but inside, he was alive and   
he 'did' care a lot about several things.   
  
In fact, she conceded, he sometimes reminded her of his Skywalker persona, if in   
a more mature version... She had to admit that she didn't mind that aspect of   
his personality. She also didn't really mind his Jedi identity, only his dark   
side influence. It made him a little too cool about a number of subjects that   
they diametrically disagreed on.  
  
However, she thought seriously, he wasn't totally consumed by it; he had told   
her that he could use the Force without focusing on his feelings, unlike their   
father, but, she frowned less happily, he used the Force any way he saw fit,   
good or bad. While her meager knowledge of Jedi Lore led her to believe that a   
spark of Light had survived in her brother, even she could tell that it had been   
smothered by his upbringing, under the Emperor's close scrutiny, she had   
discovered.  
  
He simply used and did everything in his life as long as it pleased his master,   
she sighed in regret. She couldn't blame him for that though; he had been   
cruelly forged and molded to be what he was today, just like she herself had   
been overworked to become a dignified princess, although with less vicious   
methods, she thought seriously.  
  
Still, just like he himself hadn't lost his heart, thus being a perfect   
molding, she herself hadn't been one either; they both hadn't completely fit in   
the mold that had been chosen for them... and because of this, she had to admit   
that they were more alike than she had previously thought...  
  
In a way, she thought seriously, it was reassuring, and even heartening for if   
she could rekindle her brother's light... She wondered if she could 'really'   
free him from the cruel slavery that had been forced upon him.  
  
As she gazed at him though, she conceded that 'if' it were possible, it would be   
a very arduous work; her brother was content to be the Emperor's servant.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
About two hours later, Luke excused himself and left her alone. At first, she   
remained in the training room, pondering her thoughts, then she decided to take   
a look around.   
  
Somehow, she felt drawn toward the anteroom. She hesitantly stepped closer to   
the door, unsure that she wouldn't trigger an alarm or something. Luke had told   
her about the trap doors that were used to dissuade some people from going in   
this part or that part of imperial installations, like for the door that gave   
into the outer part of their father's quarters. She herself had no intention of   
dealing with a high-voltaged shock---  
  
"There's no such risk for the moment, Leia," Vader's deep voice rumbled in the   
distance. "Come in."   
  
She hesitatingly entered the dark anteroom where she had discovered the horrible   
truth about her parentage... To the man who had just spoken, she remembered even   
as she tried to quash her fear and worries.   
  
She looked around the black room, this time aware of what had happened in it so   
many years ago. In fact, the more her eyes traveled over the deck, the more she   
could almost see her brother as he polished the decking until it shone like a   
mirror, could almost see him as he silently served the dark lord... Yes, she   
admitted to herself, it was no wonder that he had joined their father so   
wholeheartedly.   
  
He had never had anything in his whole life, either with his guardians or here,   
until he had found their father... and even then, she paused on the extent of   
her new thought, she knew that he had claimed his true identity only a day ago.   
  
He had had several advantages at his disposal, but at the same time, he had kept   
up the comedy of being Vader's slave for years--- until now. She slowly walked   
around the bubble... and finally saw what the dark lord was doing; she gasped in   
surprise.   
  
He was standing in front of the same screen he had used to show her holos of the   
past. The screen was displaying news vids of her mother.  
  
"Today, Senator Amidala of the Naboo negotiated a new treaty with Oxion which   
was threatening the economy and peace of her planet. The Governor of Oxion says   
that without the senator's admirable understanding, they would be preparing a   
war," the commentator was saying.  
  
Images of the young, elaborately braided senator flashed on the screen; Leia   
noticed the presence of her 'father' in the background, as if he were watching   
over her, she reflected.  
  
"That was the last time I saw her alive," Vader commented, keeping his back   
turned to her.  
  
As if, she reflected, he didn't want to face her; she conceded that this made   
him much less threatening than usual.  
  
"I should never have left her afterward," he breathed regretfully.  
  
"Why?" Leia asked despite herself while she slowly stepped closer to the still   
giant.  
  
Vader seemed to hunch his shoulders at his question.  
  
"Because I would never have fallen in a lava pit..." he finally sighed heavily,   
"and she would never have hidden herself from me," he finished in a lower voice   
than usual.  
  
"A lava pit??..." Leia asked, horrified.  
  
"Yes..." Vader nodded, then continued to watch images of his lost wife while he   
spoke. "The Jedi Knights tried to assassinate me because of my powers while   
scaring your mother away from me. I went in search of her. Obi-Wan Kenobi, my   
teacher, nearly succeeded to kill me... By the time I had recovered from the   
accident and was mobile again, thanks to this armor," he continued after a short   
silence, "he had truly taken her away from me."  
  
A silence stretched between them; images of the young, peace-loving senator   
continued to fill the screen in front of them.   
  
"Later on," her father finally continued, "I found out that he had told her that   
I wouldn't hesitate to kill her if I had to... that I would destroy everybody   
she loved..."  
  
"Weren't he right?" she asked him diplomatically.  
  
"No," he stated with some animosity in his voice, turning toward her to probably   
glare at her.   
  
Leia slightly flinched at his sudden move, but she held her stance and raised   
her chin in quiet challenge.  
  
Her father took a few breaths before turning back toward the vid screen; he   
continued his tale. "I would never have hurt her..." he told her wistfully.   
"Her disappearance drove me into a frenzy; nothing could stop me from finding   
her..." he continued slowly, as if remembering each event of the past. "That's   
how the Jedi purges came to be..." he admitted sadly.  
  
"What??" Leia whispered in horror.  
  
Vader had loved her mother so much that it had drove him mad???  
  
"What happened next?" she found herself asking.  
  
"I never found her... until too late," he said glumly. "She had apparently   
understood that I wouldn't hurt her and was trying to return to me, but her Jedi   
guardians wouldn't allow it. They killed her instead of risking their future   
plan."  
  
"What future plan?" Leia queried curiously.  
  
"Your brother and yourself," Vader stated, turning once again toward her, this   
time almost solemnly. "They were too weak and coward to destroy me by   
themselves; instead, they hid the two of you where you'd learn to hate me until   
you were ready to take on me..." he explained as he shook his head, as if in   
disgust.  
  
Vader, Leia thought, not the Empire, not the Emperor, but him... alone...   
It had been about a vendetta, she realized. The Rebellion had been trying to   
save the galaxy from the Empire, but the Jedi Order... had only wanted to   
destroy her father.  
  
"Why?" she finally asked him.  
  
"Because they've never wanted me in their ranks," he informed her, no longer sad   
but cool. "They didn't want to train me, then I was trained the wrong way and I   
decided to do it by myself. Palpatine, my new teacher, simply guided me toward   
the sources of knowledge and I took what I wanted, leaving the rest behind."  
  
"You mean you didn't learn everything about the Dark Side?" she asked him with a   
snicker.   
  
"No, I didn't," he retorted seriously. "I have embraced the power and   
knowledge of the Sith, but not of the Dark Side... I cannot shoot lighting bolts   
with my fingers like the Emperor does," he told her seriously.  
  
"Lighting bolts?" she frowned.  
  
"An ability that any darksider can have if they want," he explained in a serious   
yet somewhat kind voice.Your brother and I have not embraced the dark side   
tightly enough to have this ability, nor do we want it either."   
  
Leia was tempted to accept it as being good, then she remembered what her   
brother had told her about his past and her walls rose up once again.   
  
"What about the Sith? Or your dark side?" she inquired almost angrily. "You   
were dark enough to treat your son like a slave for two years," she pointed out.  
  
"To save him." he answered as if in explanation. "Given your brother's powers,   
I knew that I had to do what I did to keep the Emperor from seeing him as a Jedi   
threat. It worked."  
  
"The Emperor truly sounds like a nice fellow," she spat with as much disgust as   
she could pack in her mellifluous voice.   
  
"When we do not upset him, it is a privilege to use our abilities to serve him,"   
he explained with undeniable pride in his voice. "He brings order in the   
normally chaos-filled galaxy."  
  
"By snuffing out the problematic elements," Leia countered vehemently, the sight   
of Alderaan coming back to her mind. "He's a tyrant and an evil dictator."  
  
"But your brother and I are not," Vader answered, as if understanding what had   
been implicit in her retort.  
  
Even as Leia herself became aware that indeed, she had meant to add that her   
family was evil to serve such a man, Vader continued his explanation.  
  
"The Sith gives us a philosophy to use our powers as we see fit, but we do not   
perceive the rest of the galaxy as mere tools; what we do is for 'their' well   
being, not only ours," he explained seriously. "It completes the Emperor's   
vision, and protects us from the destructive side-effects of pure usage of the   
Dark Side."  
  
"Glad to hear that," she muttered unhappily. "So you're the good dark Jedis in   
the Emperor's evil court?" she sneered in disbelief.  
  
Vader slightly tilted his huge head. "You could say that," he finally agreed.   
  
Leia's temper snapped. "Do I look stupid to you, Vader? Do you really think   
that I'll swallow that pill without spitting it out?" she raged. "'You' are   
exactly like the Emperor," she spat, then turned on her heels to return to her   
room.  
  
"You are free to think what you want, Daughter," the dark lord commented from   
his position near the computer bank, "but sooner or later, you will see it for   
yourself," he informed her gently.   
  
Leia slapped her hands over her ears, tried to shut her inner voice that was   
telling her that Vader wasn't lying, then ran as fast as she could toward the   
sole refuge she had aboard that ship: her assigned room.  
  
No, she moaned in despair, she would never give in.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Luke and Mara stepped inside the anteroom just in time to see the princess run   
away as if scared by something. They both turned toward his father.  
  
"I haven't done anything," he explained to them. "She's still fighting against   
the truth."  
  
"She will probably do so for weeks, if not months," Luke pointed out as he   
walked closer to his father. "After all, she's very feisty and dedicated to   
what she believes is right."  
  
"Like the Rebellion for example," Mara commented.  
  
"That, and everything non-imperial," Luke nodded.   
  
"Of course," his lover gazed seriously at him, "you do realize that the master   
won't like her mental disposition at all, don't you?"  
  
"Yes, we do," Vader answered her, crossing his arms thoughtfully, "but   
considering the fact that she is of no danger to him, we both estimate that he   
should at least give us a month or two to help her adapt to her new life."  
  
"I'll take care of this detail," Luke commented instantly. "Since I'm freshly   
back from a mission, I can ask for a short permission whereas you two probably   
won't get much respite now that the galaxy is reeling from the loss of their   
'heroes'," he finished thoughtfully.  
  
"You're right, Son, but will you be able to tame her?" his father queried   
reasonably.  
  
"Father," the young Jedi smirked slightly, "I've been living with her for almost   
six months already; I know her more than she thinks," he stated confidently.   
"Even though 'our' true goal is to make her being accepted by the Emperor," he   
added seriously, "hence turning her into a dark Jedi and an imperial servant,   
she shouldn't detect any deceit if we tell her that it is for her protection,"   
he finished seriously.  
  
"You care about her," Mara pointed out flatly, reminding him that he too was   
faced with a weakness... his ultimate one. *This isn't a normal mission, Luke,*   
she warned him through their bond. *It could very well present very serious   
dangers for you if 'you' give into your heart.*  
  
"I know," he nodded more humbly than a few seconds before, "but I don't care for   
her anymore than I do for you, or Father," he finished, turning toward his   
father, who nodded in agreement.   
  
They both estimated that if he remained within the already established   
boundaries of how much he could care about selected people, he 'should' be safe   
from the Emperor's wrath.  
  
"Make sure you have the Emperor's permission before you do this again," his   
girlfriend still advised him sternly.  
  
"I will," he reassured her, "but basically, I won't care 'too' much about her.   
I simply won't let any unnecessary harm befall her, and I will seduce her as   
painlessly as possible," he explained seriously, earnestly.  
  
"Which means the only remaining detail is to return to Coruscant and present her   
to the master," his father commented seriously, taking a step closer to them.   
"I strongly suspect that the Emperor will grant you your wish, Son," he   
supported his claim, "but... should he not allow it," he finished, his voice and   
senses turning grimmer, "promise me that you won't push his limits and accept   
Leia's fate as he wishes it."  
  
"I...," Luke suddenly blanched at the thought of not being able to save his   
sister.   
  
No, he shook his head to himself. The Emperor would agree; he had seen it in   
his meditation. But... if he didn't, his more vulnerable self reminded him   
glumly, it would be pointless to argue only to get disciplined again... Whether   
he argued or not, his sister would be forfeited. But he would agree, he   
strengthened his resolve to 'make' it happen; the Emperor would allow him to   
save his sister and give him a new, very talented Jedi servant.  
  
"I promise," he reluctantly nodded to his father and girlfriend. "However," he   
then added quickly, "I have a very strong feeling that he will allow us to save   
her."  
  
"I do hope so," his father nodded, resting his hand on his shoulder in   
agreement.  
  
Beside Luke, Mara remained silent but she sent a last warning to her boyfriend   
through the Force.  
  
*I hope you know what you're doing, Luke.*  
  
Her lover answered with a slightly shaky agreement; Luke knew how unpredictable   
and stubborn his sister was. He 'knew' that it would be tricky to seduce her to   
the Dark Side while not raising her hackles, but he would do it, he promised   
himself. He would obtain permission from his master and would kill the rebel in   
his sister while keeping 'her' alive.  
  
He would please the Master once again, and without any fiasco that could   
compare, from close or afar, to the Death Star's.  
  
  
  
  
  
However, despite his strong resolve to not fail again, or worse, be naive as he   
had been as a 'rebel', doubt remained. The hours passed by; he and Mara caught   
up some more on their long months of separation while Leia isolated herself in   
her own room.   
  
Hours later, Luke rose from his and Mara's bed, dressed back in his trousers,   
threw a heavy, black bathrobe over his bare torso, retrieved a weapon from the   
nearby desk, then silently padded out of the silent room. He couldn't   
sleep and didn't want to awake his girlfriend with his shifting in bed.  
  
He thus made his way to the living room where he and his sister had had a long   
conversation that afternoon; it was now deserted, lit solely by the motley blue   
of hyperspace that was coming through the huge bay window.   
  
Sighing heavily, he sat down in the couch and stared at the shifting pattern.   
  
His master hadn't prohibited them from bringing Leia back with them, he   
reflected once again to reassure himself. He hadn't given them orders to treat   
her like a regular prisoner either, and, he added seriously---  
  
"No, he didn't mention anything about your care for her," his father supplied   
softly from the door that gave into the library.   
  
While a very, very small part of Luke reflexively cringed at the startling   
presence of the dark lord, a more recovered part of him reminded him that he had   
felt him but hadn't paid attention to his feelings; he had only minded his   
thoughts.  
  
He gazed up at the older man as he walked in the room.  
  
  
  
  
Lord Vader couldn't help but wince as he felt the mental cringe of his son, but   
a warm feeling of reassurance instantly followed that involuntary sending.  
  
"I'm sorry," the older man apologized, stepping closer to the youth until he   
could sit beside him. "I thought you knew I was there."  
  
"I did," Luke nodded, a slight smile grazing his lips. "I just didn't 'know' I   
did," he then smirked like he used to when teasing him although he himself could   
see that it was only an act this time; his son was very worried.  
  
"Luke," Vader sighed, resting his hand on his son's nearby thigh. "If the   
Emperor had any objection to what you have already begun with Leia, he would   
have told us," he reassured him.  
  
He noticed the slight tension that left the boy upon hearing his words. Of   
course, he conceded, he too could relate to his son's worry; this was why he too   
was still awake when everyone was asleep, but, he amended, he himself wasn't   
worried 'only' about the Emperor.  
  
Instead, he was wondering about how far his son would go with his sister... and   
if he would know when to stop. Luke, as he had always known, was a caring   
being; having someone to 'love' was as important to him as breathing was.  
  
Fortunately for him, and them, the Emperor had tolerated that normally forbidden   
feeling, and had even allowed his boy to share his love with his chosen lover,   
but his sister, he thought in returning worry, was another matter. Leia was   
Luke's twin sister; he himself now knew that they shared a unique bond, one that   
allowed them to 'feel' what the other felt.  
  
How deep did their bond go?, he wondered uneasily. How much effect could it   
have on his already Force-trained son versus his untrained daughter??  
  
"That's what I thought too," his son commented in the silence, answering his   
previous comment about the Emperor.  
  
"It might be a test though," he himself added seriously. "Even though Leia is   
family, Luke," he began meaningfully, "you must not let your guard down. Don't   
let your feelings rule you," he warned him most gravelly.  
  
For a second, his son's features paled slightly, then they took on a redder   
color as his annoyance rose in him. "I 'know' that, Father," he retorted,   
upset. "I learnt my lessons, don't worry," he added, gritting his teeth.  
  
Yes, he agreed sadly, the boy had been taught rather insistently to not feel   
too much; it would be doubtful that he would do so willingly, yet...  
  
"All I'm saying, Luke, is be careful about your bond with Leia," he told him   
explicitly. "It's been drawing you to her for years; we don't know how it will   
affect you."  
  
Luke meant to argue with him; Vader raised his hand, warning him that he wasn't   
done yet.  
  
"Unlike Mara, your sister is steeped in the Light Side of the Force," he   
reminded him seriously. "Remember that love is the main gateway through which   
this Light pestilence can change a dark Jedi into a cursed Jedi Knight. Just be   
very careful," he finished seriously.  
  
Luke was stricken now, having obviously not thought about this possible danger.   
While the boy pondered his words, Vader took the opportunity to study him yet   
again. Despite what he had just told him about love, he admitted that he   
himself loved his son. Considering how he had last seen him, he had been truly   
doubtful that Luke would ever recover completely from what had happened, but   
here he was, he thought in fatherly pride, sitting at his side, as strong as   
ever, and, he reflected more seriously, his mind seemed to be sharper than   
before, as if their latest challenge had fortified him... as their master had   
predicted.   
  
The black clad, partly dressed youth finally locked his gaze with his, then   
nodded firmly.  
  
"I will be careful," he reassured him. "I will not focus on her, only on my   
goal," he then explained for him to approve of his strategy.  
  
"If you don't," Vader commented seriously, "I'll make sure you don't stray too   
much before we can undo whatever happened to fool you."  
  
  
  
  
  
And save him from their master's wrath, Luke understood in relief; he smiled   
gratefully at his father.   
  
"Hopefully, it won't be necessary," he told him earnestly.  
  
"I certainly hope not, Son," his father answered in kind, then lapsed into   
silence.   
  
Having a rebel sister, he thought seriously, was indeed portent of several   
problems, but, he reflected, if he 'could' save her, then Kenobi's failure would   
be complete and 'he' himself would finally have his revenge against the wizard--  
- and thinking of which, he remembered suddenly, he wanted to show something to   
his father.  
  
Reaching into his left pocket, he pulled out his 'rebel' lightsaber, which he   
had retrieved from the awed troops that had been making an inventory of their   
captured weapons.  
  
"What is it?" his father inquired, his eyes seeking the metallic handle he was   
now holding in his hand.  
  
"Do you recognize this?" he asked his father as he handed him the weapon.  
  
The moment that his father took hold of the weapon, Luke felt a flash of   
recognition coming from him.  
  
"Where did you find that?" he queried, locking his gaze on his.  
  
"Kenobi had it in a trunk on Tatooine," he explained seriously, his eyes going   
back to the handle of the well-crafted lightsaber. "He said that it was yours,"   
he explained seriously.  
  
His father gazed back at the weapon, then swiftly stood up and turned it on   
before engaging in a series of swift, sharp cuts. As he witnessed the perfect   
synergy between his father and the weapon, Luke understood that the lightsaber   
had indeed belonged to his father... in the past.   
  
  
  
As Vader manipulated his very first lightsaber, his mind took him back in the   
long-dismissed past and all the memories of what he had lived while he had been   
using 'that' weapon: his frustrating training with Kenobi, their endless   
missions all around the galaxy for naught... then his reunion with Padme, who   
had been his Light in these days before the then Senator Palpatine had showed   
him his true path, the path of power and justice. Those had been difficult, yet   
wonderful years, he finished wistfully as a last memory of his angel came to   
him.  
  
He closed down the weapon; the torturing images faded away once again.  
  
"I take it that it was yours," his son commented knowingly from his position in   
the couch.   
  
"Yes, it was, before I became Darth Vader...," he answered, his eyes still   
riveted on the weapon. He had never thought that he would someday see it again,   
he conceded while fighting against his pangs of regrets toward the true love of   
his life... No, he steeled himself; he wouldn't venture in these murky   
territories of painful memories once again. Padme was dead, and everything she   
had always been was now safe from any harm... Unlike him who had died yet still   
lived. "That fiend probably retrieved it while he was leaving me to burn to   
death!" he spat in sudden vehemence.   
  
"Then it's a good thing that I retrieved it," his son commented, rising up from   
his seat to stand beside him, "it's back in its rightful owner's hand now," he   
smiled darkly.   
  
"Yes, it is," Vader nodded in agreement. "However, I want you to keep it," his   
father told him, handing him back the now deactivated lightsaber.   
  
  
  
  
  
"Me?" Luke gaped in surprise. "But it's yours, Father," he began to argue   
earnestly. "It belongs in your hand, not mine."  
  
"My hand,... or my child's," Vader corrected seriously, his hand unwavering as   
it held the weapon aloft for him to pick it up.  
  
For a moment, Luke slightly hesitated, somehow feeling as if he weren't worthy   
of his father's first weapon, then an idea occurred to him and he accepted his   
father's offer.   
  
"I will keep it for Leia," he informed his father.  
  
To his pleasure, his father nodded in agreement.  
  
*A most fitting decision,* he sent him warmly.  
  
Once this detail was settled, both Vaders discussed a little further how they   
would save their sole relative alive, then retired to their rooms for the rest   
of the night.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
Throughout the rest of her trip to Coruscant, Leia continued to observe her   
'family' and took note of things that she had never, ever suspected as possible   
in the heart of either Vaders, but she never showed any real closeness to them.  
  
She still wasn't convinced that they weren't fomenting a darker plan concerning   
her, nor had she forgiven them at all for what they had done to her, but, she   
came to accept that she was slowly softening toward some aspects of their   
personalities.   
  
However, she was careful to not show it nor soften too much. One way she chose   
to show her distrust was to not wear the fresh clothes her father gave her.   
Instead, she washed and continued to wear her rebel fatigues.  
  
She also spoke with her brother and his quiet girlfriend, but she let him do the   
conversation. She was extra careful with her brother though; she knew that he   
could play her for a fool without her being aware of it... but no, she   
constantly tried to reassure herself, now that she knew about that, she could   
detect his game.  
  
Couldn't she?..  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
They arrived on Coruscant a week after the Empire's final victory over the   
rebels.   
  
Since Leia had proven that she was slightly trustworthy, her family didn't lock   
her in binders for her presentation to the Emperor, but they didn't leave her   
alone either. Instead, she was 'offered' to walk beside her brother, in front   
of their father. In what she remembered as the Grand Corridor, she caught   
amused glares as they made their way toward the throne room. She haughtily   
ignored their owners, pretending to be unaffected by what was going on around   
her.  
  
However, when the double doors in front of them opened, she flinched and slowed   
down, but her brother took hold of her hand and kept her walking. As always,   
his touch reassured her and kept her going.   
  
"Aaah..." a satisfied if grating voice came from above them. "Young Vader, Lord   
Vader," the Emperor greeted from his throne.   
  
Once at the top of the stairs, Luke and Vader respectfully knelt in front of the   
Emperor; Leia remained behind them and simply bowed her head in formal greeting.  
Her eyes met the Emperor's; he didn't comment. Instead, he refocused on the two   
men and told them to rise.  
  
"Young Vader," he cackled joyfully. "it is time to celebrate our victory.   
Tonight, you will be introduced in front of my court and of the galaxy, as my   
new dark Lord," he commented in what seemed as faked cheerfulness to her.  
  
"Thank you, Master," Luke smiled proudly.  
  
She herself had expected him to react this way; she knew that today, he was   
making his childhood dream come true.  
  
"Have you thought about how I can properly reward you, besides the usual of   
course," the Emperor queried lightly.  
  
The usual being a fortune, Leia thought in disgust, a castle, a personal ship,   
and few other tidbits such as privileges, special permissions and any other   
thing that might cross her brother's mind, no matter how much it cost to the   
citizens of the galaxy.  
  
"Yes, Master," her brother bowed his head in servitude. "Instead of having my   
own castle, I would prefer to stay with Father... and live with Mara Jade."  
  
"In your Father's castle?" the despot queried.  
  
Leia reluctantly admitted that she shared the despot's feelings; she hadn't   
expect this from her brother. After having been deprived of almost everything,   
she had thought that he would leap at the occasion of having his own castle to   
crow about.  
  
"Yes, Master," Luke answered honestly. "It is big enough to allow us plenty of   
privacy without any need to build another one."  
  
The Emperor shortly mused about that. "Granted," he finally nodded. "Mara Jade   
may live with you, wherever you wish, but solely when she is off duty," the   
older man warned in what felt as a very dangerous threat to Leia.  
  
This meeting was a show, she thought in disgust, and unlike her brother, the   
Emperor was an awful actor.  
  
"Anything else?" the tyrant inquired, recovering his false cheerfulness and   
benevolence.  
  
"Yes, Master, I'd like to have a special permission," Luke nodded.  
  
"Which is?"  
  
"I would like to be granted some time off, on planet, to spend it with my   
sister," he stated, much to her surprise. "I would also request for her to be   
allowed to stay with us, in Father's castle."  
  
The Emperor took less than five seconds to make up his mind; it was an   
unpleasant surprise for the young woman. If he had decided this fast, she   
thought warily, then there definitely was more to her being with the Vaders than   
what they were telling her. The Emperor also had some designs on her.  
  
"You will have three months off," the Emperor stated, then stood up from his   
throne.  
  
"Thank you, Master," Luke bowed once again.  
  
"Meanwhile, the fleet shipyards will complete the construction of your flagship.   
As of today, young Vader, you are your father's son," he declared solemnly as he   
walked closer. "not his servant anymore," he finished, his voice slightly less   
warm than a second before.  
  
"Thank you, Master," Luke bowed yet again, in deep deference this time.  
  
As if, she noted, he didn't realize that he should've been granted that   
permission years ago. She then refocused on the actual situation when the   
Emperor turned toward her.  
  
"And you, girl? Do you claim this identity as well?" he offered her.  
  
"No," she stated defiantly.   
  
"You are, of course, aware that it is your right to have everything your brother   
has," he said suavely, obviously trying to seduce her.  
  
"I understand that I am part of a powerful family," she retorted haughtily,   
lifting her chin in pride, "but I don't accept the links to it."  
  
The Emperor barely nodded his head, then turned his amused glance at the two   
men.   
  
"You have three months to make her change her mind," he warned them. "After   
that, I will not let you waste anymore of your time on a lost cause."  
  
Leia felt that Luke reluctantly accepted his master's decision, then that he   
vowed that he would save his sister's life. She herself vowed to never let him   
sway her to their evil ways.  
  
"Yes, Master," he nodded.  
  
"Good. I will speak with young Vader," the Emperor stated, turning for the   
first time toward her father. "Dismissed."  
  
Leia didn't need any more incentive; she followed her father down the long   
stairs, dimly wondering what the tyrant would say or do to her brother this   
time.  
  
  
  
  
  
Luke remained with his master while his father and sister and father exited the   
throne room, trying hard to not shift from one foot to another in growing   
uneasiness.   
  
The Emperor finally beckoned him closer; Luke stood less than twenty centimeters   
from his master.   
  
"Your reward is settled now, young man," he told him seriously, foregoing any of   
the 'civility' he had affected while his sister had been present. He was once   
again his cold, demanding master. "But we still need to settle a few things   
between ourselves," he reminded him.   
  
Luke cringed despite himself as he remembered what his master's last punishment   
had been.   
  
"Victorious or not, there are limits to what I can tolerate as the price of   
success," the ruler stated dangerously.  
  
"I understand, Master," Luke barely whispered humbly, swallowing hard in fear.   
"What do you want me to do, master?" he asked, dreading the answer.   
  
"You will be mine," he told him simply.  
  
Luke's eyebrows shot up in confusion at that.  
  
"Aren't I already, master?" he inquired, puzzled.  
  
"In part only, boy," the other answered him before a tightening appeared around   
his left arm, just where his tattoo was located. "From now on, you will bear my   
mark, not the Sith identity," he explained even as Luke restrained a yelp of   
unpleasant surprise. "Report to the med center," he ordered him. "They will   
remove your tattoo and slave mark, then wait for me in your assigned room."  
  
"As you wish, Master." he bowed, then turned on his heel.   
  
  
  
On his way out of the palace, he warned his father that he wasn't finished in   
the palace, then reported to the med center.   
  
  
  
  
Later, much later, his master entered his room. Luke noticed that he had   
transferred himself in a younger body, probably to have more pleasure during the   
upcoming celebrations, he reflected tiredly, still recovering from the surgical   
interventions. He slowly sat up on the bunk and bowed his head in greetings.  
  
"Will you be proud to bear my emblem, young Vader?" the young Emperor inquired   
maliciously.  
  
"Yes, Master," Luke nodded humbly.  
  
"Good," he smiled thinly, then instantly took hold of his still painful biceps   
and began to mark him with the Force.  
  
  
  
  
Later, although Luke didn't know how much later, the Emperor finally released   
him. Where his master's hand had been, he saw the dark blue, personal crest   
of his master personal ranks; it was made out of the Imperial ring of power and   
three lightning bolts.  
  
As he dazedly gazed at it, Luke noticed that it looked as if it had always been   
part of his skin, but he couldn't wonder much more than that; his mind was   
standing at the edge of unconsciousness.  
  
"I will see you tonight, 'Lord' Vader," his master said, drawing him back to a   
more aware status. "Be in a celebrating mood," he ordered him sharply.  
  
"Yes, Master," Luke bowed tiredly.   
  
Once he was alone, he collapsed on his bunk and rested until he felt sturdy   
enough to walk again.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
To be continued in part 20: young Lord Vader  
  
Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)   
(Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff won't even be read.) 


	20. part 20: Young Lord Vader

Luke Vader  
Part 20: young Lord Vader  
By SJ 21-11-00/12-12-00  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving me some of your   
precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
  
  
The evening came. Even though Luke was happy, he was aware that something was   
bothering him, but he didn't know what it was; it couldn't be his marking of the   
afternoon, he reasoned seriously, he had rested from it with a healing trance.   
He was perfectly fit once again. However, a slight tickle remained in his   
chest, barely beneath his notice yet disturbing him all the same. His friend   
and lover seemed to notice it.  
  
"Is there something wrong, my Lord?" she asked him in her guise of his newly-  
chosen consort.  
  
"No," he shook his head, careful to retain his serious, satisfied expression.   
"I think I'm just tired."  
  
"Who wouldn't after bearing up with Rebel insanity for months?" she asked   
him.  
  
"I guess so," he smiled slightly although the unease remained.  
  
She turned his head toward her and leaned closer. "Let's see if I can give you   
back some of your energies then," she whispered, then pressed her lips to his.  
  
It had an almost magical effect on him, he reflected. If they had been alone,   
he would've pulled her closer, but since they were in their master's court, he   
restrained himself. He was already lucky to be allowed this much. The   
dignitaries around them politely turned away from their private moment, then   
they returned to congratulate him for his success, nomination, in short to   
welcome him to the court.  
  
Most of them knew him already, at least by face, but they had never spoken to   
him. Mara for her part was still playing the role of a courtesan; she had been   
the lucky courtesan who had been chosen by the new dark lord to be his consort.   
  
A few meters away from them, he knew that their master was watching them from   
the corner of his eye, satisfied that his long years of patience and training   
with them had gotten him where he wanted to be.  
  
At the top of undisputed power.  
  
Luke nodded to him in respect; the Emperor imperceptibly approved, then   
returned his attention to the three or four beautiful women who had been allowed   
near his throne. Luke dimly wondered which one his master would choose to   
celebrate his absolute victory.  
  
He himself had already chosen, he reflected with a smile as he turned back   
toward his gorgeous, wonderful companion. If only Leia had accepted her   
destiny, he then thought with a note of sadness, she'd be here too tonight---  
  
"Congratulations on your nomination, Lord Vader," a familiar, hated voice pulled   
him out of his thoughts.   
  
Luke turned around to face his father's arch-nemesis: Prince Xizor.  
  
"Thank you, your highness," Luke barely bowed in welcome.   
  
"I must say that your secret truly surprised me, my Lord," the reptile continued   
even as he seemed to glare at him from his taller point of view. "You and Lord   
Vader, your father, certainly tricked us all with your masquerade as his slave."  
  
"As we were meant to do, prince Xizor," he answered, meeting the alien's green   
gaze with his defiant blue one. "However," he added almost meanly, "it was   
agreed that I would one day emerge from the shadows. It was only a matter of   
proving my worthiness to serve the Emperor like my father do."  
  
"Yes, I can understand this now," the alien commented, his voice slightly lower   
in range than before.  
  
*He's not happy, Luke,* his girlfriend silently warned him from his side.   
*Don't prick him too much or you might make your first enemy tonight.*  
  
*We are already enemies,* Luke answered her, then showed her what he himself   
could see in the Falleen's mind.  
  
A lust for revenge, plans to take him out of the way once and for all.  
  
"You certainly proved how dangerous a man you are, my Lord," Jade purred as if   
in awe.  
  
The Falleen threw her a menacing glare at this, then beat a hasty yet no less   
graceful retreat from the 'new' couple.  
  
*Well that was interesting,* she said in the ensuing silence.  
  
*It certainly was,* Luke answered grimly, his eyes never leaving the retreating   
figure of the tall alien.   
  
He had always known that the Dark Prince had sent a few assassins after his   
father, men and aliens who had always been of no danger to his powerful father;   
now, he could feel that 'he' would be the other's target.  
  
Well, let them come, he thought darkly in silent challenge; in time, the Falleen   
would learn his place once and for all.  
  
  
  
  
When the Emperor had introduced Vader's slave boy as his new dark lord, Xizor   
had felt his anger and hatred rise from deep within himself, then had sought the   
one man responsible for this outrage with his murderous glare.  
  
Vader. Not only had the man destroyed his family, but he had now taken away his   
one chance to claim the galactic throne as his own by introducing his son...   
Vader had a son... how unbelievable was that?, he raged inwardly on his way to   
his private shuttle. What woman would ever want to bed the mechanical   
monstrosity, unless, he thought ungracefully, the hateful man had done what   
needed to be done to have a son, no matter the objections or obstacles.  
  
A son... an arrogant brat who dared stare his down from his diminutive height.   
Considering how the boy had turned from self-erased slave to powerful young dark   
Jedi, he reflected that he hated him even more than he hated the father. That   
boy, he seethed, had just stolen what he had slowly nurtured for himself: his   
place as the Emperor's second in command, once Vader would be out of the way.  
  
'Take advantage of your new status while you can, child,' he thought hatefully   
at the newly appointed dark lord. 'Soon, you won't be alive anymore to enjoy   
it.'   
  
With his mind set on a new plan, he ordered his pilot droid to take him back to   
his castle.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Hours later, back in 'the' Vader's castle, Luke and Mara retreated to their new,   
common bed room. While Luke had been in the medcenter, Mara hadn't wasted time   
to set up their new room; she had first selected a room for them, one that would   
be worthy of her lover's new status, then had furbished it the way he had told   
her he envisioned his personal bedroom.   
  
She was now guiding him toward it.  
  
"Close your eyes," she whispered to him.   
  
"Aren't we too old for games like this, Jade?" he asked her even though he   
obeyed her wish.   
  
"Not for the kind of games I have in mind, flyboy," she smiled, or so he felt   
through their bonds.  
  
As they stepped through what felt like a doorway, he felt his heavy cloak drop   
from his shoulders, then his belt followed suit. Two could play that game, he   
reflected ; he reached out and undid her dress' closure.   
  
"Well, can I open them now?" he asked her as she stepped closer to him once   
again.  
  
He felt her warm body press up against his back even as her chin rested   
on his shoulder.  
  
"Okay now," she told him lustfully.  
  
Luke opened his eyes--- and saw what his lover had managed to do during the   
afternoon.   
  
"Wow!" he breathed despite himself.   
  
The room was like he had thought he would manage to find: a black-sheeted,   
comfortable looking bed, a lightly-colored, deep carpet, a real-wood desk, a   
large bay window that was giving onto an even larger balcony, and the room   
naturally came with its own 'fresher. However, what was fascinating him the   
most was how she had managed to decorate it exactly the way he liked it: light   
yet elegant.  
  
"So what's your verdict?" she asked him as she began to undo his shirt.   
  
"I think..." he began, gently taking hold of her hands while he pulled her back   
in front of him, "that I want to sleep here tonight, with the woman I love," he   
smiled gently, then pecked her lips.  
  
"Sleep? Really?" she ribbed him while she resumed taking off his clothes.   
  
"Well, let's try that bed first," he answered in kind, pulling her back against   
himself to kiss her with all his passion and love.  
  
*Come here, Lord Vader.* she sent him lustfully while she lowered herself on the   
bed, her gown still hanging partly from her shoulders.   
  
*Don't worry, Lady Vader, you're not going too far either tonight,* he reassured   
her before settling himself above her; he glued his mouth to hers in a   
delightful kiss.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
After that night, Luke began his 'permission'. He alternated his first days   
between his sister's room and his selected part of the castle, slowly furbishing   
it the way he wanted it with comfortable, rich furniture, different shades of   
colors and hand-crafted crystal trinkets. He had also created his own reading   
corner, which of course couldn't compete with his father's library, but it was   
filled with his favorite books, whether they were informative or entertaining.   
  
He hadn't bothered about adding more technical rooms to his quarters though   
since his father's were already more than well furnished and accessible to him.   
The only room he had mimicked for himself was his own office. He had moved   
Mara's gift from their bedroom to that room, where he still had a stunning   
view of Coruscant's landscape.  
  
The more he worked in his office, and the more he realized that the sight truly   
was wonderfully insightful during his meditation.  
  
All in all, it took him a good five days to feel at home on the floor he and   
Mara had selected as their own. His girlfriend helped him as much as she could,   
but as he had foreseen, the Emperor had new missions for her. Hence, they spent   
every minute they had together in the most intimate way, not caring too much   
about their surrounding.   
  
His father was equally kept away by new pacifying missions, but he kept in touch   
with him, regularly checking on Leia's progress. They weren't very encouraging;   
as he had surmised, his sister was stubborn to the end, wary for a trap, and, as   
if it weren't enough, opposed to anything that had to do with the Jedi heritage.   
  
She didn't give him the slightest opening through which he could hope to seduce   
her to their side; it slowly annoyed him to the utmost.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
More than a month had gone by now. Luke was still trying to convince his sister   
to cooperate, but to no avail. At first, he had tried the constant tactic,   
then, after she had tried to attack him, had changed it to a 'give her space'   
approach and visited only once every few days. Now that the second month was   
beginning, bringing them closer to their master's final 'decision', he decided   
to try and truly reason with her.   
  
It didn't matter how many arguments or how many days it would take him, he   
'would' convince her to stop rebelling.  
  
  
  
  
That morning, he awoke before his girlfriend; he took a moment to drink in the   
sight of her sleeping beauty, the black, silken sheets and pillows under her   
bringing out the fire of her hair, then, after kissing her bare, slim shoulder,   
slipped out of his bed and put on sleeping pants and a thick, black bathrobe.   
He exited his room, then knocked on the door next to his. He knew that his   
sister was already awake.  
  
He entered despite her lack of answer.   
  
She was sitting by the window, gazing out at the beautiful sight that was   
Coruscant in the morning.   
  
"How are you today?" he asked her as he found a seat on her bed.   
  
"As fine as someone who is a prisoner in a golden cage," she retorted coldly.  
  
He stood up again, quickly making up his mind.  
  
"Well then, let's take a look outside of it," he commented seriously.   
  
She gaped at him, obviously unable to understand what he meant. Luke walked   
closer to the transparisteel door, unlocked it and slid it aside. He then   
turned toward his bemused sister and offered her his hand.   
  
"Come on," he smiled at her, "nothing like some fresh air to start your day."  
  
Leia didn't accept his hand but she preceded him outside on her large balcony.   
Luke silently watched her as she walked toward the high wall that was   
surrounding the platform.   
  
He wondered if this simple action would help her soften toward him. Only one   
way to find out, he reflected.   
  
  
  
  
  
Leia slowly rested her hand on the railing, taken by the fresh, stimulating air   
that was suddenly surrounding her, the sound of the bustling city... the feeling   
of freedom.   
  
"I wished you had been allowed to the palace yesterday afternoon," her brother   
told her as he walked closer.   
  
"I didn't," she answered coldly, not turning around.  
  
"Leia," he sighed, "why do you keep fighting like this?" he asked her.   
  
"Why??" she whirled toward him, her vehemence pouring forth to attack her   
brother. "Why??? Because 'he' destroyed my planet, my family, my cause, my   
life. I'm not---"  
  
"He's offering you a new life in return," Luke objected. "Don't you see? If   
you would simply pledge obedience to him, you would recover your freedom, you'd   
have a family again, you'd get everything you deserve," he told her earnestly.  
  
"I 'had' everything I wanted, 'brother', and no thanks to you, Vader, and your   
master, I lost everything," she reminded him bitterly.  
  
She expected him to give her another pointless argument, but instead, he   
softened.  
  
"I know the feeling," he commented as he sat down on a padded chair that was   
behind him.   
  
That wasn't what she was expecting him to answer. She frowned at him.   
  
"What do you mean?"   
  
Luke sighed. "I mean that a slave doesn't have anything in his life, except   
himself, and even then, it doesn't belong to him anymore... If I had refused   
what my master was giving to me then, I would have hurt myself in the process...   
just like you are."  
  
"No," she countered defiantly, mildly angered at his lame attempt to make her   
see it his way yet again. "'He' is hurting me. Don't you get it, Luke? I   
do not owe him anything, and I will not take anything he wants me to take; I   
will not belong to him."  
  
"Then what? You'll just let him kill you?" he challenged her, recovering his   
harder edge.   
  
"I've gotten a delay, but in the end, nothing else but that is going to happen   
to me," she stated adamantly. "Not that anybody will miss me now that you   
killed all my friends," she finished with a glare.  
  
"I will miss you... and so will Father," he answered in a small voice, accepting   
defeat yet again in his daily goal to make her change her mind.  
  
"Ah!" she snickered. "Don't make me cry, brother. Vader might have cared for   
you once he broke you, but he certainly doesn't care about what happens to his   
daughter. After all, he's got his son," she pointed out sarcastically  
  
"No, that's not true. You don't know him," Luke defended.   
  
For a long moment, their eyes met, silently trying to make the other step down.   
She noticed, not for the first time, that when he wasn't dressed as a dark lord,   
her brother 'did' look like an okay guy. Perhaps that was what his girlfriend   
had seen in him, she reflected distantly.   
  
Even though he didn't look dangerous though, she wouldn't try to fight her way   
past him; she had tried that only once, and she had understood why he was the   
Emperor's best, even when he was unarmed.   
  
He suddenly grabbed hold of her hand, drawing her out of her reflection.   
  
"I will show you what I've been trying to tell you for the past month, okay?" he   
suggested.   
  
She noted that he at least offered her before doing anything.   
  
"How would you do that?" she frowned.   
  
"With the Force. I can show you my memories, my feelings, everything you want   
to know, everything you should know... if not for that cursed Kenobi..." he   
finished with an angry mutter.  
  
"You mean you're going to play in my mind?" she asked indignantly, drawing her   
hand out of his.   
  
"No, 'you' will play in mine," he corrected.   
  
"But I'm not---" she began.  
  
"Once I establish the contact, you won't have to know any techniques to look in   
my mind if I open it to you," he reassured her.  
  
"And you will?" she queried uncertainly.  
  
"Yes," he answered matter-of-factly.  
  
Feeling uneasy with this new offer, Leia took a moment to ponder it. If she did   
let him in her mind, without her barriers, she knew that she would make a first   
step toward trusting him... On the other hand, she reminded herself, she had   
been trusting him for almost two months now... in non-imperial matters at least.   
  
However, she knew that he was trying to save her life; he wanted to help   
her... much like he had seemed eager to help her when they had been 'rebels'...,   
she thought in slight resent, yet also understood that her brother 'did' care   
about her. He wouldn't trick her this time.  
  
"Okay," she accepted.   
  
He smiled at her, a smile that couldn't possibly belong to a dark lord-assassin-  
dark Jedi-- it belonged to a farmboy. He offered her his hands, palms up. She   
gingerly rested her smaller hands in his deadly ones.   
  
Deadly, yet able of tenderness too if she remembered some of the things she had   
seen him do while in his lover's presence.   
  
*When you're ready,* he sent her through the Force.  
  
It startled her, but not too much. She just wasn't used to this kind of   
communication. She closed her eyes.   
  
At first, she didn't feel anything, then she felt a presence draw closer to her   
own until it seemed attached to her somehow. She slightly panicked, meant to   
pronounce her brother's name, but instead, she found herself entering his mind.   
  
Once there, as he had said, she didn't need any knowledge to sift through his   
memories. She thus watched his whole life unfold before her eyes, saw his poor   
existence on harsh Tatooine, his experience of slavery, then the unusual care   
his 'master' had showed him once he had begun to behave, his lonely life until   
he was reunited with his father, all the moments of kinship he had shared with   
him, filled with love and care, his demanding training that no child had any   
right to succeed, yet he had... his numerous missions, his strange attraction to   
a certain princess, his growing attraction to his best friend, his own care that   
made him help some citizens while during missions even if it greatly angered his   
new master, the Emperor's omnipresent oppression and control... yet her brother   
was free, and he had everything he wanted in life.   
  
Finally, she saw how both her brother and father had planned to keep her alive   
to free her from her former life and let her claim what was rightfully hers.   
She belonged with them, she realized as she pulled away from her brother's mind.   
  
Just like her brother had never been in his place with his guardians, she   
herself hadn't been in her place on Alderaan. They hadn't understood her   
devotion, her passion,... her uncanny feelings... but her true family could and   
would understand her, she knew.   
  
Especially her brother. If only there wasn't the Emperor...   
  
"Haven't you ever thought about fleeing away from all this?" she asked him as   
she recovered her full senses.   
  
"You mean--- desert?" he gaped at her, recovering his full awareness in shock.  
  
"Yes. No more assassination, no more darkness, just to be with your family,"   
she explained.  
  
"No." he said seriously. "It would be pointless anyway. Where would I go?   
What would I do? Here, I have a purpose since someone needs my abilities." He   
suddenly stood up from his chair. "I don't even want to think about what would   
happen if the master ever kicked me out," he admitted, burying his hands deep in   
his pockets, obviously distraught by her suggestion.   
  
Leia's eyes were so wide in disbelief that they would probably have fallen from   
her orbits had her brother not turned back toward her.   
  
"You have seen what I was talking about, right?" he asked her, skillfully   
eluding her new topic.  
  
"Yes," she nodded. 'That and more,' she thought to herself. "I... I need time   
to consider, Luke. I've never been dominated before," she told him, wondering   
how he would react to her choice of words.  
  
"Think of it as service to someone who provides for you," he answered wistfully.   
  
'Even when it comes to discipline,' she wanted to ask, but didn't mention   
it. She hadn't been supposed to see this; she didn't want to call the Emperor's   
wrath down on her brother.   
  
Instead, she slightly tilted her head in answer.  
  
"If you want to talk to me, just call me, okay?"   
  
"Okay," she whispered, turning away from him.   
  
Her brother left her alone to her thoughts.   
  
How could her brother worry about the Emperor not keeping him?, she wondered in   
growing worry. The other had hurt him when he had displeased him, but he had   
obviously never meant to 'fire' him since he had always kept him under his   
'payroll'.   
  
Why would---   
  
Then, it slowly dawned on her that since her brother had almost never known what   
freedom was, he couldn't imagine not having a master. For him, she understood,   
serving someone was probably the most natural thing in the galaxy. It was   
probably the same situation with her father, she then reflected seriously, which   
left her only one option if she wanted to be with her true family: she had   
to pledge obedience to the Emperor because her father and brother weren't   
leaving his yoke anytime soon.  
  
Frustrated, she picked a small pebble and flicked it over the railing. Less   
than a second later, she heard a zinging sound.   
  
Worried, she stood up and leaned over the railing. Less than a meter under her   
balcony, there was a protection shield to keep a bystander from falling down to   
the ground, which was kilometers away.  
  
Leia couldn't help but smile thinly as she saw the security installation. Her   
father certainly didn't want anything unfortunate to happen to the guests who   
occupied her room. She wondered if there were some rooms without that   
installation.  
  
Probably, she shuddered despite herself. It would be quite convenient for an   
assassination...  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
Three more weeks passed during which Leia preferred to spend her time alone than   
with her brother.  
  
Mara didn't complain about this arrangement. Since she was also off-duty, that   
meant more time for her with her boyfriend. He had been summoned to their   
master's throne room and was now returning. She waited for him near the door,   
intent on surprising him.  
  
She just loved to startle him, she admitted to herself while keeping her   
presence hidden from him.  
  
The moment he took his first step through the door, she pushed herself off the   
wall, grabbed hold of his cloak and refined clothes, then pulled him around and   
against herself. She noticed that he wasn't surprised to find her there; drat,   
she had missed her shot.  
  
He did answer her kisses though.   
  
*When did you get back?* he asked her as he pressed even closer to her.   
  
*Less than twenty minutes ago. It was a short errand,* she sent him.   
  
*So I see.*  
  
  
  
  
Minutes later, she showed her what her errand had been... for him. She set her   
hands on his shoulders... and began to massage him.   
  
"Hmm," he moaned in delight from the vicinity of their plush pillows. "If   
sending you on errands always give you ideas like this, Jade, I'm going to find   
errands for you," he teased her.   
  
"'That' was my errand, flyboy," she told him lustfully. "I don't need excuses   
to imagine how to surprise you."  
  
"Sorry," he told her, afraid to have vexed her.   
  
"I forgive you," she ribbed him.  
  
Her hands slowly began their way down his muscular, tensed back.   
  
"What did the master want?" she asked him.   
  
"An update on my sister. He can feel her still strong opposition and mentioned   
the possibility of brainwashing her. I don't like it."  
  
"Neither does he like your growing care, I suppose," she commented coolly.   
  
"No, you're right. I simply don't want her to be hurt," he answered seriously.   
"It isn't her fault if she's been raised to believe in anything but what her   
life should be. If only we could return in time and undo what Kenobi has done   
to her..." he reflected out loud.  
  
"But you can't," Mara answered. "What does your father say about all this?" she   
asked him, her hands now rubbing his broad shoulders.  
  
"He says that I will figure out something to make her change her mind," he   
sighed. "If he were here, he would help me, but I'm not sure if he would be   
more successful than I am." He closed his eyes in slight defeat. "She's been   
too brainswashed already to see the truth..."  
  
Mara slowly brought her hands to his biceps. She leaned closer to his ear, an   
idea having just occurred to her.   
  
"Why don't you go back in time with her then?" she suggested him.  
  
Luke opened his eyes to look at her. "How?" he asked her.  
  
"Remember our first mission with your father? On Alderaan? She was there too."  
  
And she had been drawn to him, drawn to the dark lord... If not for her foster   
parents---  
  
"You're right!" Luke exclaimed, feeling a load of concern lift off his   
shoulders. "Thanks, Mara," he whispered, twisting his head around to kiss her.   
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
To be continued in part 21: Leia Skywalker or Vader?  
  
Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)   
(Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff won't even be read.) 


	21. Part 21: Leia Skywalker or Vader?

Luke Vader  
Part 21: Leia Skywalker or Vader?  
By SJ 21-11-00/12-12-00  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving me some of your   
precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
  
  
That evening, Luke brought Leia to his father's library. He had told her that   
he wanted to take her out of her room for a change.  
  
"I think I found something that will help you make the right decision for   
yourself, Sister," he told her after a while.   
  
"You mean to stay with you and Father," she pointed out sarcastically, turning   
away from the array of shelves.   
  
Luke shrugged his satiny-clad shoulders. "That's another way of saying it," he   
conceded.  
  
"Let me guess," she sneered, "the Emperor has jerked your chain, reminding you   
that my death sentence is coming soon."  
  
Luke was surprised by her intuition; even untrained, she was powerfully gifted.   
  
"He asked for news about your progress, yes," he admitted truthfully, having   
determined that lying to her was totally pointless and didn't help him in the   
least.   
  
His sister shrugged in turn and returned her attention to the books and the room   
which were around her.   
  
"Tell me," Luke asked softly. "Do you remember me as Father's slave?" he   
queried.   
  
She refocused on him, scowling. "What do you mean, remember?"  
  
"We had seen each other a couple of times before we met on the Death Star; do   
you remember any of those times?" he asked her again.  
  
Leia scratched her head as she tried to remember the past.   
  
"Are you sure?" she finally inquired.   
  
"Yes," he answered her, stepping closer. "If you will allow me, I will guide   
you toward those memories."  
  
"Why can't I find them by myself?" she asked warily, taking a step away from   
him.  
  
"Because they are behind a wall," he explained softly. Father set it up for my   
safety... just before I met you."  
  
"What?!" she gasped, truly drawing away from him this time. "You mean to tell   
me that my mind has been manipulated?" she asked, incensed.  
  
"I will undo it, if you will let me," he answered seriously, trying to calm her   
down.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
Leia paced all over the carpeted floor.   
  
Her mind had been manipulated, her privacy had been violated... Her father had   
dared do this to her, well, he hadn't known at the time, she reminded herself,   
but still, she continued to argue, he had altered her memories.   
  
What else had he done?, she suddenly worried--- then an even more horrible   
thought invaded her mind.  
  
Who else had done so?  
  
She refocused on her quiet, understanding brother.   
  
"If I let you inside again, Luke, you will undo every wall, and I mean   
everything that has been done to me, whether by Father... or someone else," she   
finally managed.  
  
Her request seemed to surprise him, but he didn't question her.   
  
"Okay," he nodded. "Do you prefer to sit down before we start?" he offered her.  
  
She plopped down on one of the comfortable chairs; her brother took the chair   
opposite hers and offered her his hands like he had done the last time.  
  
"Take a deep breath," he instructed her, "Relax as much as you can."  
  
"Why?" she asked, suddenly worried anew.   
  
"It'll make the walls less resistant," Luke explained in a strangely distant   
voice.   
  
Unlike the last time, her brother's presence didn't simply hover near hers; he   
entered her mind, but not completely either. She was relieved to discover that   
he didn't completely invade her mind.   
  
Although she couldn't see him, she felt him poke around, testing this or that   
part of his mind, undoing barriers when he was running into them and making sure   
that he wasn't forgetting any walls when he wasn't blocked away.  
  
The more he undid her blocks, the more familiar memories popped free in her   
mind. She saw her younger self during a stuffy reception, heard her thoughts   
concerning a certain dark lord and his slave, then she saw the boy in question.   
  
She then saw herself, at an older stage, watch the same boy from the corner of   
her eye as she tried to survive her first experience in the Emperor's court...   
then later on, at her nomination as senator.   
  
She had indeed always felt attracted to the silent, ghost-like youth, she   
finally admitted; she had somehow managed to refrain from speaking with him, but   
it had been hard---  
  
Then she saw memories she had never, ever seen before. She was in her mother's   
arms, herself nothing more than a baby probably... Her mother was speaking with   
somebody.   
  
'It is the only way, Padme. They must never know the past.'  
  
'But Anakin wouldn't---' her mother began in a sad voice.  
  
'He isn't Anakin anymore, Senator; his name is Darth Vader now... He  
sacrificed his own humanity to serve the dark side...' the man stated darkly.   
'He will sacrifice his children and wife if he has to. He won't hesitate to   
destroy every one you love,' the Jedi finished seriously yet sadly.  
  
*Kenobi,* her brother's hatred-filled voice informed her.   
  
'He wouldn't have killed us, would he have?' she asked her brother.   
  
'No, nor mother, but the Jedi fooled her with his lies... I'm done here,' he   
told her before withdrawing from her mind.  
  
"Did you remember this?" she asked him, still shocked by the truth of her   
memory.   
  
"No. It was the first time that I saw this," he answered, some of his anger   
still inhabiting his voice. "You were right about another block," he then   
nodded in approval.  
  
"I wish I hadn't though... Gods, Luke, if his plans had come to be---" she   
gasped in horror, forgetting her wariness with her brother.  
  
"we would have killed our own father, or else he would have killed his own   
children. And they called him darksider," he sneered sarcastically as he stood   
up from his seat.   
  
"Now I see why you are so upset with the Jedi order," she admitted.   
  
"I wanted to help Father hunt them down, Leia," Luke told her, also forgetting   
his mission or his status. He just needed to talk. "I wanted to avenge my lost   
family. Unfortunately, I was too young."  
  
"I've been raised to protect them as the Light in the Universe you know," she   
commented in disappointment, "as the last hope for true peace."  
  
"Have you ever studied the history of the Old Republic?" he asked her.   
  
She nodded.   
  
"It's chaotic," he pointed out in dismay. "The Jedis didn't accomplish anything   
except confuse everybody," he finished in disgust.  
  
"The Empire destroys and enslaves," she reminded him, some of her defiance   
resurfacing at his comment.   
  
"The destruction has mostly occurred because of the Rebellion," he pointed out.   
Leia meant to argue, but Luke cut her off. "I am responsible for much   
destruction, Leia, but I can tell you this: my targets had always done things   
to deserve their treatment," he explained seriously. "Otherwise, we stole them,   
we incapacitated their surroundings, but we didn't kill them. The mass-killings   
that took place were brought about by the Rebellion because it fueled such   
feelings into previously unconcerned population." He paused, then continued:   
"Now that the Rebellion is not there anymore, peace 'has' returned to the   
galaxy."  
  
Leia hated to even think the words, but her brother was right.   
  
The news had changed since the defeat of the Rebellion. So had the Fleet's   
orders, she knew from her rare discussions with her father. And the Jedis---   
the Jedis had sought her destruction; they hadn't cared about herself, her   
brother, or even her father... only about their vendetta.  
  
But her father and brother cared, she reminded herself; they cared about her,   
her mother, each other, Luke's lover, the galaxy...  
  
Only the Emperor didn't have any feelings for anybody but himself.  
  
But what if she didn't take him into account in the portrait?, she hesitantly   
wondered.   
  
"Could you show me around?" she asked her brother, finally making up her mind,   
at least as far as cooperation was concerned.  
  
He stopped his pacing to look at her questioningly.  
  
"I've been in this castle of two months now and I still don't know what it looks   
like inside," she smiled at him.   
  
"Sure, come with me," he smiled back.   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
That night, Leia didn't sleep. Instead, she laid on her bed and gazed at the   
ceiling.   
  
What would her life have been if she had been found by her father like her   
brother had been?, she wondered. Would she have been like her brother, like   
herself, or somebody completely different.  
  
Even as she thought about the possibilities, an image came to her mind.   
  
'She was with her mother, reading a story, while her brother was playing nearby   
with small tie Fighters and other model ships, lifting them up with his Force   
powers. Their mother quietly scolded him to not do that without his father   
around to coach him. Then the door opened behind Luke and in stepped her   
father, their father...   
  
Darth Vader.  
  
"Daddy!" she squealed in delight, trying to beat her brother in his run toward   
their father.   
  
They both threw themselves in his open arms, then he stood up as easily as if he   
weren't carrying them ; he took a moment to look at his wife. This wasn't at   
all like the Jedi had told her it would be, she heard her think.'  
  
  
Then the image disappeared and Leia was back in her room. She shed silent tears   
of sadness that they had all been deprived of such a life. But she was still   
alive, she suddenly heartened herself, and so were her brother and father. She   
could still live with them and have the family life she had been deprived   
of, she resolved.   
  
Tomorrow, she'd ask her brother to get her an interview with the Emperor.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
The despot was surprised to see her this soon, this was sure, but, she   
reflected, if she wanted to make her decision clear, she needed time to argue on   
her terms.   
  
She dressed in the fine clothes her brother had provided for her; they were not   
a dark-side reminding uniform. Instead, he had found her a beautiful sky-  
blue/dark blue suit and cloak.  
  
As she walked beside him, she noticed the looks the courtesans and other   
dignitaries were giving her, or was it to her brother, the dark lord? She had   
to admit that he looked very impressive in his cloak and black uniform. She   
knew thought that this was just window dressing. Under the appearances, he   
was one of the nicest guy the universe had known.   
  
He just had a nasty job.  
  
  
  
  
They climbed up the long stairs, then both of them knelt in front of the   
Emperor. Leia noticed that her father was already in the room, beside his   
master's throne.   
  
"Rise," the ruler told them. "You wished to speak with me, girl? Do so," he   
instructed curtly.  
  
"I have made my decision, your Highness," she told him as respectfully as she   
could.  
  
"Which is?" he prompted impatiently.  
  
"I will stay with my family, but I will not be your servant," she declared   
adamantly.  
  
From the corner of her eye, she noticed her brother's wince. The Emperor, on   
the other hand, didn't show any unhappiness except for his hand.   
  
He tapped his right claws on his armrest. "Indeed? And do you think that this   
can be acceptable?" he queried dangerously.  
  
"I will do your bidding as far as your trust in me is concerned, your Highness,"   
she continued bravely. "I will not get involved in any organization of any   
kind, and I might sometimes help my brother and father, if I have your   
permission of course," she added as the other turned to glare at her brother, "   
but I will not serve you on a duly basis like they do."  
  
The Emperor remained silent at this, obviously unhappy with the outcome. "What   
is your opinion, Lord Vader?" he asked his older servant.  
  
"If she behaves, Master, then I don't foresee any problems," the older Vader   
commented seriously.  
  
"Neither do I, Master," Luke spoke from her side. "You can also assign an   
escort to her when we aren't planet-side," he added seriously.   
  
  
  
  
  
The Emperor flashed an angry glare at his newest dark lord. That boy was   
drawing him further down dangerous territories than he should have ever let him   
do, he decided in growing annoyance. First, the child had mimicked as a good-  
hearted farmboy for months, then had brought back his 'sister' of the Light into   
his carefully balanced world of darkness, and now, the enraging girl was openly   
defying him by choosing her family without bowing to his will.  
  
For a very brief moment, he considered simply finishing it with the girl, once   
and for all, then reconsidered. If the boy had managed to make her accept her   
'family' despite everything they had done to her, then, he could consider that   
given more time, the girl's potential for hatred would be his to mold into   
another tool of his arsenal.   
  
The challenge, he conceded, would be to manipulate her through the men without   
risking to lose them to the care they had for the girl. At the moment, it was   
under tight control for both of them, but he was aware that their control was   
tenuous at most. He himself knew that sooner or later, he would have to take   
actions to force that despising care of theirs back into very limited   
boundaries.  
  
  
  
  
  
Leia's eyes didn't leave the Emperor's shadowed hood as he pondered his   
decision. While she truly didn't want to serve him, she admitted that she   
didn't want him to separate her once again from her family----  
  
The despot refocused on her.   
  
"Will you accept whatever restriction I will establish?" he demanded coldly.  
  
"Yes," she nodded truthfully.  
  
"And you will behave properly now," he inquired warningly.  
  
"Yes, I will," she nodded again, aware that he was asking her to be a princess   
once again.  
  
The Emperor hissed in barely disguised despise.  
  
"You may stay with your family, 'Lady' Vader," he all but spat in contempt.  
  
"Skywalker," Leia corrected seriously.   
  
"What?" he growled instantly, making her cringe despite herself as she met his   
sulfurous glare.  
  
"My father's true name is Skywalker," she answered proudly, defiantly. "Hence,   
my name will now be Leia Skywalker."   
  
The Emperor literally drilled her with his venomous eyes for a full ten seconds,   
then turned away from her, as if unable to bear her sight anymore. He locked   
his gaze on her brother.  
  
"Bodyguards will be assigned to her. She may be free to go where she pleases   
when they are with her... but should she try to loose them," he warned acidly,   
"she might not survive my wrath."  
  
"I understand, Master," her brother bowed in answer. "Will she be allowed to   
leave with us, Master?" he then inquired respectfully.  
  
"Sometimes," was the short, almost dismissive answer from the obviously upset   
ruler.  
  
"Thank you, Master." Luke and her father replied as they bowed their heads in   
tandem.  
  
"Dismissed," he barely sneered at them.  
  
While the two men bowed once again and turned to leave, Leia took advantage of   
the silence to show her good will while slightly upsetting the despot a little   
more.  
  
"Thank you for your time, Emperor," she told him regally.  
  
He barely motioned her away with his hand although his annoyance came clearly   
through to her.   
  
"Not you, dark Lord of the Siths," the Emperor suddenly called from his now   
turned-away throne.  
  
Leia exchanged a quick gaze with her brother; he shrugged and nodded toward the   
double doors in her back. She left the room without any other incentive.  
  
  
  
  
  
Once Leia left the room, the Emperor stood from his throne and looked from   
father to son.  
  
"Those were not the results you promised," he hissed warningly.   
  
"They are a beginning, Master," the older Vader explained. "Leia's resistance   
was deeply ingrained; we have only recently broken through it."  
  
"My feeling is that she will eventually take part to some of our operations,   
Master," Luke added earnestly. "She simply needs time to adapt to her new   
life."  
  
"I already gave her three months," their master reminded them darkly.  
  
"Which taught her to accept her destiny, Master, but she hasn't embraced it   
yet," Luke answered soothingly.  
  
The Emperor threw him a vicious glare--- which was interrupted by his father's   
deep voice.  
  
"Luke is right, Master," his father agreed. "She was raised to fight against   
us; even though she knows the truth now, she will need more time to become a   
true Vader."  
  
"Then I suggest you convince her to develop her Force abilities," the ruler   
retorted curtly. "Now that she is trustworthy, don't delay anymore."  
  
"Yes, Master," both Vaders said, bowing in acceptance.   
  
The Emperor barely dismissed them.   
  
*Do you think we have a deadline this time?* Luke asked his father through the   
Force as they walked down the stairs.  
  
*No, but I think we are better to show some progress as fast as possible.*  
  
*I don't like to do that to her,* Luke admitted as they approached the double   
doors.  
  
The two of them exited the double doors; Leia was quietly waiting for them less   
than a meter away.  
  
"I take it that he's not pleased," she told them before they had uttered a   
single word.  
  
*Perceptive,* his father commented through the Force.  
  
*You have no idea,* Luke sent him back. "Not really," he continued out loud,   
"but it will do for the moment," he answered his sister.  
  
  
  
  
  
"For the moment?" Leia asked with a slight frown, reflexively doubting her   
brother's good intentions.  
  
"When he will see how far he can trust you, he will be satisfied," her father   
explained as she fell in step between the two men. "You are beautiful in those   
clothes, daughter," he then surprised her with her comment. "You are perhaps   
even more mesmerizing than your mother was," he added wistfully.   
  
Leia gaped at him as she followed the two dark lords toward a nearby turbolift.   
  
"Those were Mother's?" she asked although something didn't felt right in her   
reasoning--- the trend of fashion, she understood.  
  
"They weren't," her father nodded in agreement, "but she used to wear those   
colors when she wasn't the Queen."  
  
"Oh," she nodded in understanding.  
  
They all entered the lift; the doors closed in front of her, leaving her alone   
with two of the deadliest individuals in the galaxy: her brother and her   
father... but she felt safe in their company.  
  
She knew that she could trust them, that she could rely on them.  
  
They were her family, and she had finally come home.  
  
  
  
  
To be continued in part 22: Lady Skywalker  
  
Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)   
(Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff won't even be read.) 


	22. part 22: Lady Skywalker

Luke Vader Series: From slave to Dark Lord of the Sith  
Part 22: Lady Skywalker  
By SJ 12-12-00/26-12-00 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving me some of your   
precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
  
  
  
At first, Leia's life didn't change much from what she was used to in the   
Empire, except for the fact that she was free to go wherever she pleased.   
  
She was also better disposed toward her brother and father since she now knew   
that they were at least as trustworthy as her foster family had been, if not   
more, she conceded. Unlike her former family who had constantly criticized her   
true self, her true family displayed signs of genuine care for her, accepting   
her as she was, and even allowing her to influence them in their decisions.   
  
They never complained about what she wasn't; instead, they were happy to   
accept her as she was even though she wasn't like they were.  
  
That, she had begun to realize, was a nice change for the formerly constantly   
pressured ex-princess of Alderaan.  
  
It was such a welcome change in fact that she even found herself looking forward   
to spending time with her true family, if only to know them better. At first,   
they were both kept away on missions on the other side of the galaxy, but they   
returned, a month and a half later and hadn't left since then.   
  
While the two dark lords waited for new assignments, they spent much time with   
her, sometimes the three of them together, sometimes alone with her, as if in   
turns.  
  
Since Leia had never spent much time with her father before, she slowly   
discovered that he was, indeed, good hearted for those he cared about, but what   
surprised her the most was how much her brother was very much like the naive   
farmboy he had pretended to be with the Rebellion. The only difference there   
was in his personality was that he was far from being naive; he was a seasoned   
strategist for one so young... and a definitely thoughtful individual who cared   
a lot about several ideals and persons.   
  
Like his father however, he knew not to overcome the Emperor's boundaries,   
something that thankfully didn't apply to her.  
  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
However, that aspect of the girl didn't please the ruler at all. While he had   
sent the two men away for an undetermined period of time, he had expected the   
girl to care less about them and perhaps give in a little to her hatred of them   
for what they were doing in 'his' name... but no.  
  
Instead, the girl had been reported to watch the newsvids and support her   
brother's or father's actions now and then, then to curse 'him' when they did   
something she used to hold them responsible for.  
  
Hence, he had come to understand that his strategy had mostly backfired on him,   
although not completely. It had been the first time that the boy had truly   
taken commands of troops, and unlike what he had expected, the child had proven   
himself more than capable of handling thousands of troops at his command.   
  
The moment that he had stepped aboard his newly-manufactured Annihilator, he had   
imposed himself as a commanding, fearful figure who hadn't tolerated mistakes of   
any kind although he hadn't wasted lives either. Instead, he had used more   
creative ways to teach his subordinates to not dare fail him. The Emperor had   
been most delighted upon reading the reports from his spies, then had truly   
jubilated when he had witnessed the strategy skills of the youth at work.  
  
The boy, he had smiled in dark glee, was even more cunning and driven than his   
father was; more than ever, he truly was his ace up his sleeve... and he himself   
had decided to not entertain thoughts of his failing him in his duties.  
  
For the time being, he had conceded that he would be more useful to him on a   
bridge than on the field.  
  
And certainly more than in a living room, he thought in annoyance at the sight   
of the castle where the Vader family was 'enjoying' more time together.  
  
However, he once again overlooked the details of the meeting, allowing the boy   
to enjoy the company of his sister and father in reward for his excellent   
service on the front, but only as long as he didn't come through as too Light to   
his liking, he added grimly to himself.  
  
Letting his gaze slide over the spears of the Vader castle, he perused once   
again the horizon of Imperial City.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
That evening, Leia retired to her favorite private corner, which happened to be   
her father's gardens. She had spent the whole afternoon with her father and   
brother, discussing the future of the galaxy from different point of view. It   
had been a nice if sometimes touchy afternoon, she sighed in slight weariness.  
  
She finally sat by one of the numerous water fountains, gazing absentmindedly at   
the small fishes that were swimming in its clear waters.   
  
Her family was so confusing sometimes, she reflected sadly. On one side of the   
coin, her relatives were caring, compassionate, even kind toward whoever was   
either close to them or hadn't threatened the Empire, but on the other side,   
they were harsh and cruel toward their enemies.   
  
Both beauty and darkness, she summarized glumly. It was much like her father's   
palace, she then added, even like Coruscant itself, she thought to herself.   
Would she ever fit in such a place, she wondered uneasily. Did she even want to   
fit?   
  
She knew that she didn't want the darkness, she reminded herself. Up to now,   
she had only seen the beauty by being treated to the finest restaurants, the   
most renowned clothe designers, the greatest entertainment..., but soon, her   
brother, and perhaps even her father would leave for a new mission...   
  
Somehow, she knew that she would leave with one of them; she couldn't say why,   
but she could feel some kind of eagerness in the air... some kind of prodding   
that was leading her in that direction, toward that certitude. Of course, she   
admitted, she couldn't foul herself: the Emperor wasn't satisfied with her   
actual status. He wanted her under his control just like the rest of her family   
was.  
  
Her fight, she realized, wasn't against her family, but against her would-  
be slaver. Well, she'd be damned if she would let him take the upper-hand   
anytime soon.  
  
No matter what special permission he was giving her, he wouldn't win her soul.  
  
  
******  
  
  
Unbeknown to her, her relatives' new delay had expired and her brother had to   
negotiate again, with a price this time. At least, that's how the Emperor saw   
it ; Luke saw it as his failure to deliver what he had promised.  
  
  
  
  
Luke stepped inside his master's quarters and knelt.   
  
"How fare your sister today, young Vader?" the young Emperor asked without   
preamble from his position near his private bar.   
  
He barely motioned him back to his feet.  
  
"She is improving, Master," Luke told him as he stood back to his feet. "She   
doesn't try to escape, not even when we leave her 'alone', and she takes   
interest in what we have to do for you."  
  
"To defeat me," the ruler sneered against his glass.   
  
"To use your resources in a non-destructive way, Master," Luke corrected humbly.   
"I believe we are beginning to break through to her."  
  
"Then she will be soon be mine?" the other inquired seriously, turning his   
yellow glare toward him.   
  
"Eventually, yes, Master," Luke conceded with some caution, bowing his head to   
avoid his master's sulfurous glare.   
  
The Emperor answered by slapping his glass on the glassy top of his bar, then   
stood from his stool and stepped closer.  
  
"Eventually is not a good enough answer, young Vader," he hissed in frustration.   
I am growing impatient," he warned him.  
  
Luke kept his head bowed. "I know, Master, and I'm sorry... I honestly can't   
say when she will be ready to serve you," he tried to explain. "Her brainwash   
goes far deeper than any of us had foreseen."  
  
"Enough lame excuses, child," his master snapped angrily. "You could overcome   
it, even do it again without her being aware of it if you wanted to."  
  
The Emperor's hand suddenly took hold of Luke's chin and forced him to meet his   
angry glare; Luke couldn't help but swallow hard in fear.  
  
"You care too much about her," the Emperor stated glacially. "You failed your   
mission and fell in 'her' trap."  
  
"Master, please," was Luke's instant answer. "I did not overlook your rules."  
  
"Then explain why she isn't my servant yet," the other challenged him, viciously   
releasing his chin and forcing him off balance.   
  
"Leia...," he stumbled slightly before recovering his composure. "Leia's   
strength resides in her personality, Master, not her abilities. You need her as   
a whole to make the best out of her service," Luke told him matter-of-factly,   
hoping against hope to be able to reason with his master once more.  
  
"Correction, young Vader," the ruler warned him darkly, waving his finger at him   
in a threatening fashion. "'I' don't need her; you and your father need   
her. I have merely granted you the right to keep her with you as long as she   
serves me," he reminded him darkly.  
  
"I'm sorry, Master," Luke apologized sincerely. "I didn't mean to upset you."  
  
The Emperor dismissed the apology with a wave of his hand as he slowly stepped   
closer.   
  
"Understand this well, young man," he warned him once he stood right in front of   
him. "As long as she will not be my servant, she will be a rebel, and as such,   
her very existence disgusts me," he snarled in despise.   
  
Luke hadn't expected this kind of radical judgment; he truly didn't know what   
to say to reassure his more than upset master.  
  
"I will not fail you, Master," he told him seriously, confidently.   
  
The young Emperor, who had stepped away from him once again, glared sideways at   
him at this, pinning him with his inhuman eyes, then blasted him with his   
lightning bolts.  
  
As Luke recovered from his rough landing on the floor, he heard his master   
comment that perhaps he would, but that he still cared too much about the   
'girl'.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
When Luke returned to his rooms, he barely had enough strength left to put on   
slacks and a large shirt, then he crashed on his bed and gazed out at the vista   
of the city that was stretching as far as his eyes could see.  
  
He had to stop displeasing his master, he decided. He had destroyed the   
Rebellion, he sure as hell could sway his sister's righteous mind, he reflected   
darkly. What could he do though? Sure, he could brainwash her, or else   
manipulate her mind during her sleep, but he didn't want that. He wanted her to   
retain her lively mind, her typical personality.  
  
Her training in the Force was progressing well too, he then admitted, but she   
wasn't powerful; she could only do so much...  
  
No, he thought seriously, the bond had to start in her heart, a place for which   
he hadn't found her keys yet---  
  
A knock interrupted his meditation, then his sister's mind delicately brushed   
his.   
  
*It's open,* he sent her.   
  
He remained in his curled-up position as she stepped inside his room. She   
finally came into his field of vision; he noticed that she was worried about   
him.  
  
"Are you okay?" she asked him, forgetting her normal wariness.   
  
"I'm just tired," he lied, not really gazing at her.   
  
Yes, he was tired to fight against the now dead-Jedi... Now, he thought glumly,   
he could relate with his father's untypical weariness during the Jedi hunt.  
  
"I went looking for you yesterday but you weren't there," she commented   
kindly... then Luke registered the barely covered tremor in her voice and gazed   
more attentively at her.  
  
He thus noted what type of clothes she was wearing as well as the hairstyle she   
was favoring today.  
  
It was Alderaanian from her braids to her toes...  
  
"I had to take care of something," he evasively answered her even as he locked   
his eyes with hers. "Why did you want to see me?" he asked her seriously.  
  
"Oh, I... I just needed to talk with someone..." she told him, also evasively.  
  
Luke immediately understood what was going on: Alderaan... it was that time of   
the month again.  
  
"I'm here now," he answered her more gently, raising himself to his elbow to   
offer her his hand.   
  
She gratefully accepted it, then leaned down to lay in his arms as she let her   
sobs of grief overcome her.  
  
"It's okay, Leia... it won't happen again," he promised her, laying his head   
against hers.  
  
"Luke, I... I want to be with you... with Father..." she sobbed. "But I can't   
serve that monster who has destroyed my home planet..."   
  
And this, Luke realized, was the key he had been looking for. He had to make   
her forget about the Emperor while unknowingly making her serve him as well as   
he and his father did.   
  
That meant, he then thought less happily, that he would have to see his master   
again to discuss this new discovery...   
  
Wonderful, he sighed glumly despite himself.  
  
He resolved to see him as soon as possible, in his throne room this time.   
He tightened his hold around his sister, pressing her closer to his own chest.   
  
"I understand... we'll find a way, Leia..." he cooed near her ear. "We'll find   
a way..." he promised again, both to himself and her.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
After leaving her asleep on his bed, Luke dressed in a new uniform and cloak,   
then courageously made his way to his master's throne room.   
  
He was let inside almost instantly. To his dismay, only his master and his   
royal guards were left inside the room.  
  
"I wasn't expecting to see you this soon, Lord Vader," his master commented   
maliciously.  
  
Luke did his best to forget the mocking gaze his master was giving him.  
  
"Something new occurred to me, Master," he said as he bowed in respect. "She   
told me that she could ally herself to Father and I... as long as you   
aren't in her life," he admitted, aware that he was seeking more punishment with   
his words, but he also knew that he had to check with his master before setting   
his new plan in motion.  
  
As he had expected, his Emperor was far from satisfied by this turn of events.   
  
"What does this mean exactly, young man?" he inquired dangerously, drumming his   
fingers on his armrests.  
  
"Master," he explained as earnestly as he could, "I think that if she has the   
feeling that you will not try to ally her anymore, she will work with us, thus   
serve you without her being really aware of it, as we mean to accomplish at the   
moment."  
  
"And she would continue to insult me with her Skywalker name and her defiance!"   
the ruler spat in frustration.  
  
"Unless she remains out of your court, Master," Luke tried to reassure him.   
  
He knew that his new plan was far from pleasing him, Luke could tell so from the   
slight flashes that were erupting from his master's finger tips. Luke, like his   
father, knew that the Emperor couldn't abuse of those powers without   
accelerating his already fast physical decrepitude, but he also knew that he   
didn't hesitate to use it in some occasions. He could only hope that yesterday   
had been---  
  
He suddenly felt a strong Force-squeeze around his arms, then he had no choice   
but to step closer to his now standing master.   
  
"You are aware of course," the Emperor began darkly. "that those are absolutely   
exceptional circumstances. If it became known in my court... you wouldn't like   
the consequences."  
  
Luke swallowed hard in fear.   
  
"I... understand, Master," he managed as respectfully as he could.  
  
"Do you, really?" the Emperor asked locking his gaze with him and probing his   
mind as he had done the previous night.  
  
It slowly dawned on Luke that he would have to 'buy' that permission once again   
while being successful as well.   
  
"May I choose how I will pay, Master?" he asked bravely, unsure how his request   
would be welcomed.  
  
"You mean choose between another long session of torture and the privacy of your   
mind, young man?" the Emperor offered with a mean smirk. "Yes, you can choose;   
both choices will provide me with pleasure anyway. On the other hand, you   
certainly won't in one option, but you might enjoy the power in the other...   
and one will definitely be more difficult to explain and live with than the   
other. But it is your decision," he finished coolly.  
  
Luke could only gape at his master... He was right... he had no other choice...   
Otherwise, he would fail since Leia would know that something was wrong.   
  
After all, he thought in disgust at himself, he was supposed to be in his   
master's good will these days...  
  
"When?" he sighed in resignation.  
  
The young Emperor stepped even closer to him.  
  
"I will let you know; it shall be done secretly," he told him greedily. "Now   
go back to your sister and do what you've been supposed to do one month ago," he   
ordered him.   
  
"Yes, Master," Luke bowed his head, turned away without any other prompting,   
then left the throne room.   
  
He had some work to do.   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
TBC in part 23: A New Family  
  
  
Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)   
Well, liked it? (Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff won't even be   
read.) 


	23. Part 23: A New Family

Luke Vader Series: From slave to Dark Lord of the Sith  
Part 23: A new family  
By SJ 12-12-00/26-12-00 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
  
The same day, Lord Vader quietly stood in his daughter's room, watching her from inside while she practiced her levitation skills on her balcony. Ever since she had accepted her link to her family, she had shown much interest toward her Force heritage, but at the same time, she was wary about what they wanted to teach her.   
  
As far as levitation was concerned, she was open, but when it came to reading   
minds, or learning how to use her skills in combat, she wasn't that interested.   
  
He and Luke were still hoping that she would eventually change her mind about   
this, but at the same time, they now knew that even if she did become a Sith   
apprentice, she would never be a full-fledged dark Jedi. She simply didn't have the gifts to achieve this; she was only a little more than sensitive to the Force.  
  
Luke had told him about the new plan to subtly convert the young woman; he himself had agreed that it couldn't fail this time.  
  
He finally stepped within her sensing range; she lifted her head in his   
direction, then smiled as she spotted him.  
  
She looked so much like her mother, he reflected once again, then crushed the images that surged forth in his mind upon that thought.  
  
"Good evening, Father," she smiled gently, turning her focus back on her   
statuettes.  
  
The dark lord was impressed that she had managed to keep them both air born   
while greeting him.  
  
"You are improving," he noted with interest.  
  
Not greedy interest, he dimly realized, but genuine, caring interest.  
  
"I'm trying to," she nodded, slowly making them revolve around one another.   
  
As he sat down beside her, he noticed the way she was chewing on her lower lip as well as felt how she was mentally straining to maintain her focus.   
  
"Try it like this instead," he suggested, tentatively joining his mind to hers,   
then, once she accepted his presence without any backlash, guided her toward   
true skillful use of the Force, no matter how weak she was with it.   
  
It was almost, he reflected, like when he had taught his wife how to use his   
lightsaber even though she hadn't been Force sensitive... Just in case she would   
need that knowledge, he remembered.   
  
Back then, his large hands and covered his wife's, his strong arms had surrounded her slim ones and their physical contact had overridden his senses; now, his mental senses were surrounding his daughter's while guiding her in her task, creating a somewhat similar effect to the one he remembered...  
  
It was strange, he admitted, how his daughter wasn't at all like his son. They   
were both from the same parents, were both endowed with the same strength of   
spirit and will, even with the same basic personality, he conceded, but working with Leia wasn't comparable in any way to working with her brother.  
  
First of all, she was a woman, something he hadn't had in his life for a long, long while...; she was delicate yet strong, beautiful and pleasant to the eye, yet she was also intelligent, compassionate, and she wasn't as skilled as her brother had been.  
  
She was also constantly re-evaluating the situation, judging what she wanted and   
what she rejected, constantly keeping both himself and Luke on their toes.   
  
She had inherited the Skywalker intelligence, no doubt about that, he conceded   
with some pride, but in this case, it could easily turn against them.  
  
Leia's senses withdrew from his, pulling him back to the present.   
  
"Thank you, Father, I had never seen it that way before," she told him   
gratefully as she picked the two crystal statuettes from their positions in front of her.  
  
"It is only a matter of seeing it and doing it once the right way, then   
you can never forget it, much like flying," he told her with a shrug.  
  
His daughter nodded in answer, then silently put her slight burden on a nearby   
table beside her seat. He could feel that something was on her mind.  
  
"Do you want to talk about it?" he offered her.   
  
Her eyes flashed slightly, as if fearing that he had read her thoughts, then she   
became aware that she hadn't felt any such intrusion, hence, relaxed.   
  
"Luke once told me how he was a natural with anything that flies," she began   
wistfully.   
  
"Yes, he is," he agreed with a nod. "It's as if the ship becomes part of   
himself, or vice-versa. Why the sudden worry about this?" he asked her   
diligently.  
  
"Oh, it's not a worry," she answered with a light yet sad voice, "it's just..."  
  
Vader set his hand over hers, delicately squeezing them. "Leia, what is it?" he   
inquired again.   
  
She turned away from him to gaze at the lines of traffic that were glinting in   
the horizon.   
  
"I know that the Emperor doesn't really care about me since I don't seem to be   
much of a dark Jedi... but what if he discovers that I have the same skills than   
my brother?" she finished, turning toward him.  
  
"Do you have those skills?" her father asked her seriously.  
  
Both Luke and himself knew that it wasn't the case, but... had they missed   
something?  
  
"I don't know," she shrugged, "but I never needed more than one flying lesson   
to learn how to fly crafts that ranged from speeders to shuttles and   
starfighters," she admitted truthfully.   
  
The Skywalker-touch, he realized with a touch of pride.  
  
"I had heard about that," he reassured her, "but I assure you that being a very   
good pilot isn't enough to draw the Emperor's attention on you. Luke is an   
exceptional pilot, yes, but he is also many other things... that require skills   
that you simply don't have, Leia," he finished gently, reassuringly.  
  
  
  
  
  
Both reassured and afraid by her father's words, Leia jumped to her feet and   
threw her arms aside in frustration.   
  
"Don't you find it strange that we both have flying skills yet I don't have much   
Jedi skills?" she asked him in annoyance.   
  
"No," her father calmly shook his head.  
  
"And why not?" she asked, crossing her arms in slight defiance.   
  
Either they were hiding something from her, she decided, or else, she was blocking herself somehow. It just didn't make any sense otherwise. Much like her attitude toward the Force, she admitted silently.   
  
She wanted to use it as easily as her brother and father did, but at the same time, she didn't want their dark lives. She just wanted to be like her family.  
  
Would she ever fit in??, she wanted to scream.  
  
Her father regally stood up from his chair and stood right in front of her. She   
looked up at him, suddenly fighting tears of frustration. Her powerful father, her powerful brother... She would never be like them on more than one aspect.  
  
Her father rested his hand on her shoulder.   
  
"Have you ever noticed how much like your mother you are?" he asked her gently.  
  
Of course she had noticed, she wanted to snap. She would be a fool not to see   
herself as a her mother's ghost.   
  
She barely nodded.   
  
"This is only a theory, Leia, but I think that Luke inherited the Skywalker-  
strength, Force-wise, and you got your mother's."  
  
"Mother was a Jedi?" she gaped in sudden bemusement.  
  
"No," her father shook his head, "but she was a part of the living Force. With   
half of my chromosomes in you, even though they are not the dominant strength,   
they make you Force-sensitive, but not skilled enough to become a full-fledged   
Jedi Knight," he told her regretfully.  
  
Leia felt her tears suddenly stream down her eyes as her father's wisdom   
registered in her mind. He was right, she admitted. She could feel it... had somehow always known it. It wasn't her fault, it wasn't their fault... It was the way it was, nothing else.  
  
"Then..." she sobbed despite herself, "then what can I be?" she queried softly.   
  
If she couldn't be like her family, which meant not fitting in yet again...   
where would she fit in?  
  
Her father gently pulled her in his embrace; she surprised herself by burying   
herself in his arms, ignoring his breast plate, his black-leather armor, what he had always represented for her until lately; she simply reveled in the fact that her father was there to comfort her, that he was caring about her even though she would never be like him or her brother.   
  
Strange how he had gone from being a monster being pressed up against her back   
while she had watched her planet being destroyed... to a father who was   
comforting her...  
  
"You can only be who you are, Leia; you are my daughter, your brother's sister, a beautiful, intelligent young woman who can use the Force to a certain extent,   
but who also has many other skills that don't require the Force at all... skills   
in which you excel, like politics and leadership," he soothed her warmly.   
  
She didn't answer him, merely tightened her hold around his strong body.   
  
*Thank you, Father.* she sent him gratefully.  
  
There was at least one good thing about her situation, she sadly reminded   
herself: she truly was beneath the Emperor's notice now, and 'that' was a great   
thing.  
  
  
  
  
While he held his daughter, Lord Vader marveled at how things had turned out   
between them.   
  
Years ago, before he had found his son, he had never thought that he would   
someday have a child, then he had found Luke and discovered fatherhood.  
  
He had then thought that he would never discover anything new about this status,   
then... his daughter had come out of nowhere... and he had realized that he   
still had much to learn about fatherhood.   
  
Planning, training and caring wasn't all there was to it: listening, sharing, demonstrating his feelings,... wanting the best for his children, Force-skilled or not... holding his grown-up child in his arms to reassure and comfort her...  
  
Now he knew about those things.   
  
He had just never, ever expected the feisty little princess from Alderaan to   
teach him this much... In a way, he conceded, it was a very good thing that she wasn't too much like her brother.  
  
A very good thing indeed.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
The weeks passed and Leia slowly but surely began to truly become a part of her   
family, even without her Force-strength. Luke and his father alternated their 'shifts' at the palace, thus giving off the impression that they were on-duty once again.   
  
Before their missions, she often spent time with them to know what they were   
going to do while off-planet, then, when it wasn't threatening for anybody, she   
made a few suggestions to make sure that this part or that part of the population would be 'visited' by their troops, not assaulted. During such exchanges, Luke dimly listened to her political advice, focusing instead of how to draw her even closer to their side. However, she did help them to pacify some areas of the galaxy without causing any bloodbath.  
  
Unknowingly, she thus helped the Emperor to strengthen his hold on the   
galaxy; at last, they were getting true results to show.  
  
When she was alone, Leia varied her activities from beginning to study the   
Empire and see what she could really do to help while in its heart, to training her fledgling skills, to going outside with her escort and take advantage of   
Coruscant's establishments, to spending time alone with her father, her brother,   
and even her brother's girlfriend.  
  
Mara Jade.  
  
The first times that she had found herself alone with the red-head, both women had spent long silences studying each other, but as they had begun to comment on   
some subjects, they had slowly begun to build a tentative friendship which slowly evolved into a real one.  
  
Eventually, they discovered that there were truly a few things that only another woman could understand.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
That day, Leia had managed to convince Mara to go out for some serious shopping.   
She had made the judicious observation that both the red-head's and Luke's wardrobes needed some refreshing, as well as her own of course.  
  
At first, Mara hadn't been too warm to the idea to spend her whole day in a   
shopping center instead of training at home, but as she had begun to follow   
Leia's eager lead, she had discovered that she had missed out a very interesting   
activity during all those years.  
  
It was time to catch up with the years, she had resolved.  
  
And she did catch up.   
  
  
  
  
  
Leia was leaning against a rack of shirts and t-shirts while Mara was still in   
her cabin, trying on yet another audacious top.  
  
"I shouldn't have told you about my fortune," she complained mock-seriously,   
referring to their earlier conversation about the princess' use of her own personal account instead of her father's or brother's.   
  
"If you hadn't, I would have used another source," Mara shot back playfully.   
"Oooh, he's going to die for this one," she smiled devilishly above the door   
before lowering herself back in the small room.  
  
"Him and any other man who'll see you in that thing they call clothe," she   
agreed with a smirk.  
  
"Those other ones are definitely going to die," the red-head stated, a trifle more seriously this time.  
  
Leia sighed at this. It was a useless reminder that her new best friend was an assassin, even more active than her brother was. It was hard not to forget it, she reflected seriously.   
  
Jade's eyes were always alert for trouble, her stance was always straight and intimidating, making sure to keep any unwanted bystanders at bay, and her Force senses were radiating with a deadliness and efficiency that was only matched by that of her brother and father.  
  
Well, she thought glumly, they had all been molded by the same dark artisan.   
  
Then, her eyes fell on the pile of clothes that the red-head had discarded as well as the bunch of bags they already had.   
  
Yet like her brother and father, she continued more lightly, Mara hadn't completely lost her humanity. She was in mad love with Luke, and she liked to have fun like everybody else.   
  
Leia straightened up as her friend walked out of the cabin; she noted that she was grinning in a most satisfied way.   
  
Oooh, Luke had better be ready for her when he'd come back, she grinned back.   
  
*His jaw is going to hit the floor so hard that you'll probably hear it,* Mara   
sent her through the Force.  
  
Leia could only agree with her, fighting against the laughter that was bubbling   
up inside of her. She managed to keep it down for as long as they were in the rather pompous store, but as soon as they were outside, she exploded in a fit of laughter; so did Mara.  
  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
An hour later, Mara still couldn't believe what Luke's sister had dragged her   
into.  
  
Shopping. Hairstyling. A snack at a restaurant.  
  
Never in her life had she ever done something even remotely similar to this.   
Whenever she had gone out to buy something, it had been a one way trek to the   
store, then back home without any other stopovers for anything else. she had rarely had to do so anyway since other servants had always fulfilled her requests one way or another.   
  
After all, she conceded, until recently, her life had always been one thing only: secrecy.  
  
Not that it had been less secret today, she reflected wryly, just more normal.  
She refocused on her companions who was talking about one of the time when she   
had seen Luke 'farmboy' get into a completely foolish thing because of an   
accident.  
  
"You should have seen him with his hair all stuck with that oily goop," Leia was   
laughing. "I don't think that the mechanic ever realized who was glaring at   
him." she finished with mirth.  
  
"I can imagine how unhappy he was," she answered half-seriously, half-lightly. "He never particularly cared about those cleaning up jobs we sometimes had to do." she added, careful not to reveal anything serious about her boyfriend.  
  
"Hmm, that must be why he disappeared from his usual spots for the following   
hours," the petite brunette reflected more seriously.  
  
He had probably been venting a rather unSkywalker-like rage, Mara reflected   
silently, not willing to bring up that subject with the slowly-cooperating   
princess.  
  
"He probably licked his wounded pride," she instead commented.   
  
"Probably," Leia agreed. "You know, I never asked you this, but when did you   
begin to see him as more than a friend?" she asked cautiously.  
  
For a moment, Mara silently poked at her piece of Leahnab cake, debating with   
herself whether it was dangerous to talk about this in an open area or not.   
She finally decided that it was okay, as long as they didn't name anyone.  
  
"I think it began to change when we were around fourteen years old," she began   
wistfully. "Back then, we were constantly together, and other than the regular   
limits between friends, we were sharing almost anything."  
  
"Was it a physical or an emotional thing at first?" Leia inquired with interest.   
  
Mara noticed the way the other woman was eager to hear her tale, but dismissed   
the danger it might entail. It was illogical in this situation.  
  
"It was both," she answered. "Whenever we were close, the physical attraction   
was slowly building until it would become unbearable, but without his personality, it wouldn't have gotten us as far as we are now." She shrugged as she continued: "I simply couldn't imagine not being with him."  
  
Leia had grown extremely quiet during her last sentences; it first puzzled the assassin, then, when it stretched into the next minutes, worried her.  
  
"What?" she asked her, suddenly realizing that she had dropped her guard and   
that someone might have crept up on them during that time---  
  
Her companion shook herself out of her gaze.   
  
"Nothing," she finally said neutrally. "I... was just remembering how I felt   
for someone... it took me a while to understand that I hadn't seen it for what it was at the time, and now it's too late..."  
  
"You mean you loved someone and you lost him?"  
  
Leia barely nodded in answer.  
  
Her admission surprised Mara, but, she reminded herself more coolly, she couldn't do anything for her now.  
  
"I'm sorry," she simply said, resting her hand over her friend's.  
  
Leia didn't show any sign that she had heard her, then she suddenly stood to her   
feet.   
  
"Let's go back home," she told her as gaily as she could managed.   
  
Her effort didn't escape Mara, but she wisely didn't add anything. When they exited the restaurant, she felt their escort resume their distant duty.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
TBC in part 24: Reborn Hope  
  
  
Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)   
Well, liked it? (Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff won't even be   
read.) 


	24. part 24: Reborn Hope

Luke Vader Series: From slave to Dark Lord of the Sith  
Part 24: Reborn Hope  
By SJ 12-12-00/26-12-00 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving me some of your   
precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
  
Three weeks later, after an afternoon of Jedi training with her brother, Leia   
managed to convince him to go out with her for their dinner.  
  
Luke thus found himself in a good but cheap restaurant, well, he amended, cheap   
only when compared to the upstanding places he could now afford thanks to his   
new status. In its own rights, the place was very nice, as his sister had told   
him.  
  
Now he understood why it was her favorite place when she was alone; it had a   
particularly homey charm.   
  
As he looked around himself, he also had to admit that it was doing rather well   
for itself despite its humble nature: the waiters were in dress-uniforms, the   
food was almost excellent, and they had an interesting selection of wines.  
  
Nobody knew that they were serving Luke Vader though; for comfort reasons, he   
had chosen to disguise himself with the Force. For one thing, he admitted to   
himself, he was tired from his last mission and didn't feel like bearing up with   
the constant gawking he got whenever he wasn't with a few select persons.  
  
He also didn't want to be approached by any would-be courtesans; no matter that   
his relationship with Mara was known, some people still wanted to have his   
favor.  
Yuck, he frowned in disgust.  
  
He finished his study of the place and refocused on his sister.  
  
She looked quite happy; this was a good thing, he nodded inwardly. She had   
dressed in a fine yet not extravagant dress, and she had braided her hair   
loosely enough to look relax.   
  
He had to admit that more than ever, she was beautiful, both outside and inside.  
She was also improving most satisfactorily lately; he refocused on her   
accounting of her last trip to the beach.  
  
"And you? When was the last time you went to the beach?" she queried warmly.  
  
Luke had to think there. Had he ever been to the beach? Other than during   
missions, had he ever stepped on a beach?..  
  
"Hmm, I think it would be a first," he admitted while their waiter brought their   
food.  
  
He himself was ravenous and was about to start eating his bouquet as a salad.  
  
"You mean you've never been to the sea?" his sister asked, incredulous. "Not   
even here?"   
  
"No, I haven't," he admitted in a small voice. "I haven't exactly had a lot of   
free time," he reminded her somewhat glumly.  
  
Suddenly not feeling exactly comfortable with the topic, he instead attacked his   
plate of steaming meat and veggies.   
  
"Oh, sorry," was all Leia said.   
  
While they ate in near silence, Luke became aware that he had to steer away from   
any subject that would make him realize what he had missed up to now and   
generate regret in himself. The Emperor hadn't called on him yet for his   
'deal', and he already had a feeling that he wouldn't like it, so, he reasoned,   
he had better not give him any other reason to make it even more unpleasant.  
  
Leia excused herself, cutting into his thoughts as she stood up. He   
questioningly looked up at her; she barely nodded in the 'fresher's direction.   
He didn't probe anymore and refocused on his surprisingly excellent frenls   
steak.  
  
She had barely turned the corner when he felt her sudden fear invade his senses.   
For a split nano-second, he almost jumped to his feet, then he understood what   
was going on, smirked as he felt that the new developments would be positive for   
him, and let his sister deal with her aggressor.  
  
  
  
  
  
As she walked toward the ladies' room, Leia reflected that her brother was more   
tired than he was letting them see. He seemed to be worried about something,   
but what, she wondered---  
  
A large hand suddenly covered her mouth while the being pulled her inside a   
small room. She barely had time to realize what had happened before she found   
herself alone and locked with her attacker.   
  
She prepared to attack him with the Force, then the light was turned on and she   
lost her focus.  
  
For a long moment, she could only gape in disbelief at the tall man who was   
shyly smiling at her.  
  
He couldn't be alive... she reminded herself--- then she threw herself in his   
arms, forgetting what she had thought to be until now.  
  
"Han..." she whispered as she hugged him to herself.  
  
"Hello Princess," Han Solo whispered in her ear, then he gently tilted up her   
face with the tip of his index.  
  
Their eyes met for long, interminable seconds, then their lips followed suite.  
  
At that very moment, Leia's universe made a churning 180 degree turn. She was   
in love with that man whom she had believed to be dead... and now that he was   
back, he was reawakening the old Leia of the Rebellion.  
  
The one that would never have allied herself with Luke and Vader. She shut her   
mind on those thoughts and simply focused on the man's presence.   
  
"I thought I had lost you forever," she whispered when their lips parted.   
  
He gave her his roguish grin. "Not on your life, Leia," he teased her lightly.   
"As soon as I found out that you were on Coruscant, I made my way here and   
waited for the right moment to contact you."  
  
"You mean you managed to follow me without being detected?" she asked in   
incredulity.  
  
"Hey, you're talking to a man who's been outside of the law for all his life,   
your Highness," he reminded her. "I can outwit them at any time."  
  
Leia meant to argue, but Han didn't give her time. He turned serious.  
  
"Leia, I know that we don't have much time. Myself and a few others are here to   
rescue you from this place."   
  
For a short moment, she felt elated, then she remembered who was with her at the   
moment.  
  
"It's impossible," she admitted with a sad shake of her head. "Not with Luke   
here."  
  
"Luke? You mean that bastard Vader?" Solo snarled. "He isn't here, I haven't   
seen him and I scanned---" Solo began to assure her.  
  
"He's with me, Han... He... He's my brother," she told him hesitantly.  
  
As she had expected, Han pushed her away from him in shock.  
  
"What do you mean your brother?" he gaped in disbelief.  
  
"He's my twin, Han... And Vader is our father."  
  
At first, the pilot seemed to reconsider his plan altogether, then his face lit   
up as he understood something.   
  
"You aren't like them, are you? You're still a prisoner," he stated.  
  
"I'm... mildly trustworthy," she admitted sadly.   
  
"And you live with the both of them?" Han asked, a sudden animosity flashing in   
his eyes as he began to consider a new possibility.  
  
"Yes, why---"  
  
"With your help, Leia, me and the few others I spoke about could strike a   
serious blow to that Emperor filth," he informed her, dead-serious.  
  
"Wh---what do you have in mind?" she inquired, somehow dreading his answer.  
  
"We could kill them both," he told her adamantly.  
  
"What?!" she exclaimed. "Kill them? But..." she began, then she realized what   
she was about to do.  
  
No, she mentally berated herself, she wouldn't defend the darksiders, but they   
were also her family, an inner voice reminded her... She couldn't betray them.  
  
"I'm sorry, I can't," she finally told him.  
  
Han gently yet strongly took hold of her biceps.  
  
"Leia, do you realize how many lives you will save if you help us take them   
down?" he asked earnestly. "Do you have any idea what this could do to the   
Empire?"  
  
Leia listened to him, but a part of her soul was screaming to her not to listen   
to him.  
  
"It could be the end of the war," Han continued seriously.   
  
For almost fifteen full seconds, Leia remained silent, gazing straight into   
Han's hazel-nut eyes. He wasn't the same brash, no-care smuggler she had known   
during the Rebellion, she realized.   
  
He had changed, he had--- she stopped as the Force showed her something that was   
most unexpected. Han Solo had become the new leader of the slowly recovering   
Rebel Alliance, and he was here to rescue her because he loved her and wanted to   
avenge what had been done to them.  
  
He was out for her brother's blood...  
  
She pulled herself free of his hold.   
  
"Han, I love you too, but I can't help you kill my brother. I'm sorry," she   
apologized glumly.  
  
She knew that her answer didn't please him, but he accepted it. He slowly   
stepped aside from the small path to the door.  
  
"All right, Leia, but I'm still going to take you away from your golden cage,"   
he promised her. With or without your help, I will find a way to free you."  
  
"I wish it were possible," she conceded in a small, sad voice.   
  
She slowly picked her way toward the door. As she passed by him, he touched her   
shoulder once again.  
  
"If you ever change your mind and want to help us, Leia, come to this   
restaurant. I will be here."  
  
She gazed at him wordlessly, then made her way out of the maintenance closet.  
Behind her, Solo sighed heavily.  
  
She made a quick detour by the 'fresher because she really needed to use the   
installation, then, after taking a moment to compose herself, she headed for her   
brother's table.  
  
He had finished his plate and smiled when he spotted her. She forced herself to   
smile back. She would find a reason to go back home early tonight. She needed   
to do some serious thinking.  
  
Luke fortunately didn't seem to notice it.  
  
  
  
  
  
But Luke did notice.   
  
Leia wasn't skilled enough to hide her thoughts, let alone her feelings.   
However, her reborn hesitancy didn't matter this time since this new development   
would force her to make a choice: either she would stay with them, or she would   
resume her life as a rebel and become an enemy once more.  
  
If she did, he would regret her fate, but he would obey his master.  
  
  
  
Once he was home, he called his father and girlfriend via holonet to inform   
them of the situation. Just like he did, he knew that they would feel the   
change in Leia upon their return; he told them about his new strategy.  
  
When he cut his transmission with his girlfriend, he knew that Leia would never   
even consider the possibility of them knowing about her possible desertion.  
He leaned back in his plush chair and considered the future once again.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
While Leia began to torture her mind anew with strong ambivalence, Luke received   
orders to report to his master for their 'deal.' His first instinct was to ask   
for a delay given the new player in his plan, but he quickly changed his mind.   
His master had allowed him to keep Leia alive for a while now, so he had to pay   
for what he had gotten up to now.  
  
Hence, he reported aboard his master's imposing flagship and accepted the   
painful deal his master offered to him.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, on Coruscant, Leia's mind had reached a decision from which there   
would be no turning back.  
  
She walked down the streets toward 'the' restaurant, still slightly debating   
with herself whether she should help Han kill her family or not. Inside the   
restaurant, she sat at a table, ordered a simple drink which she began, then,   
after spotting Han in the far corner of the restaurant, pretended to have to go   
to the 'fresher.   
  
She knew that the bodyguards wouldn't follow her this far.  
  
Surprisingly enough though, they accompanied her all the way to the door.  
  
Inside, Leia waited slightly, then she decided to pay a visit to one of the   
stalls.  
  
"You made the right choice, Leia," Han's voice whispered to her as soon as   
she shut her door.  
  
She almost jumped out of her skin in shock. She hadn't even felt him through   
the Force.  
  
"Han!" she exclaimed in a whisper. "Don't do this. Do you want us to be   
discovered?" she asked him.  
  
"Not really," he smirked. "So I take it that you changed your mind," he told   
her as he stepped closer.  
  
"If you kill them," she told him as she slapped her datadisk against his vest,   
"I don't want to be anywhere close-by," she warned him.  
  
Han took her hand in his, then sought her eyes out.  
  
"Why do you care so much about them, Leia?" he asked her seriously.  
  
"Because they love me, they are my family, Han..."  
  
"Those two darksiders can't---" he began vehemently.   
  
"Yes, they can..." she corrected, "but they are also evil, I know... and this is   
the part of them that I want to see dead."  
  
"But you just said---" Han pointed out.  
  
"I don't want to see them die, but I want to know that their dark selves are   
dead," she corrected before taking a deep breath to calm herself. "I'll wait   
for your rescue, Han," she told him shyly before touching the door's control.  
  
Han wasn't letting her go this fast though. He first pulled her in a passionate   
kiss that made all her doubts melt away, well almost all of them, then he kissed   
her forehead.  
  
"Be careful, Princess. I love you."  
  
"And I love you too, Han. I miss you," she whispered warmly.  
  
They would have initiated another kiss if they had been alone, but they weren't.   
They were both aware that Leia's guards were probably wondering what was taking   
her so much time.  
  
She pecked Han's lips once more, then left the small room, washed her hands,   
then left him completely alone.  
  
It was a good thing, she reflected seriously, that she had always been one to   
stay for a long time in 'freshers. This time, it didn't look suspicious to her   
guards.  
  
  
  
  
Han watched her leave, his heart lighter due to his love for her, but his mind   
more determined than ever to take out the darksiders who had tormented her.   
While he waited for the corridor to clear from her bodyguards, he remembered   
once again the day when he had seen the news about the 'new' dark lord.  
  
He had been with the very few survivors of the latest imperial assault. Like   
himself and Chewie, they had escaped because they had been in space when the   
ships had come up on them; they had managed to make the transition into   
hyperspace before the imps had even been aware of their presence out there.   
  
That day, his heart heavy with grief at the lost princess and the young Jedi he   
had come to think of as a younger brother, he had distractedly listened to the   
others' plans to regroup and start anew, but he himself didn't intend to join   
with them except to avenge his friends---- then a fighter pilot had rushed in   
their small meeting room and warned them that something warranted their   
immediate attention on the vid.   
  
The moment the image had come up on the screen, Han had felt his jaw hit the   
floor even as expletive curses and growls had emanated from his co-pilot.  
  
There, at the Emperor's left, had stood the young Tatooine farmboy... but he   
hadn't been a prisoner. Instead, he had been dressed almost like Vader himself,   
with the exception of the mechanical parts of his suit. Even if Han instantly   
understood what it meant, his mind refused to believe it, trying to convince   
himself that the boy had been corrupted by Vader, as he had intended to do the   
first time that he had captured him, but the Emperor's comment about how the boy   
had proven his worth by destroying the Rebellion had shattered all his weak   
arguments.  
  
That day, Han's life had taken a drastic turn with a sole goal at the end of it:   
to kill Luke Vader, the Emperor's new Dark Lord of the Sith.   
  
The presentation had lasted for far longer than those few words, but he hadn't   
listened anymore. Instead, he had tried to remember everything the bastard had   
done and said while with them, trying to understand exactly what the kid was   
capable of.  
  
The only thing he had determined was that he would plan carefully before taking   
him on. The traitor had fooled them all from the start, not generating any   
doubts in either of them about the genuine nature of his almost dangerous   
naivete. Instead, he had led them right where he wanted them all... and had   
even captured Leia's heart.  
  
At that moment, Han had somehow known that the woman he loved was still alive,   
that the monster had taken her with him to enjoy her company for a while longer.   
  
The moment the transmission had ended, then that the present men had cursed   
until they could only seethe in silence, he had spoken--- and had taken   
leadership of the ragtag group of surviving rebels.  
  
With their help, he had established that Leia had indeed been taken to   
Coruscant. While he himself and a few commandoes had made their way to the   
imperial world to rescue her, others had begun to rally new allies for a soon to   
be reborn Alliance, but unlike the old one, they kept their activities secret.  
  
However, the time to rise against the Empire would soon be at hand, Han thought   
grimly as he refocused on the present. With the two Vaders out of the way and   
Leia back with the Alliance, they would free the galaxy once and for all of the   
oppression of the Empire.  
  
Eventually, he left the ladies' room.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
A week later, the whole Vader family was miraculously home at the same time, and   
they even had some time to enjoy their being together. They had first shared a   
copious meal, except for her father, and they were now slowly digesting their   
feast while discussing some idle topics.  
  
They were sitting in one of her father's many living rooms; this one was   
decorated in tones of dark green, burgundy and gold. It was very soothing for   
her mind, as was the whole situation; it was a welcome feeling considering the   
past days that she had spent reconsidering her decision over and over again.  
  
Her brother and his girlfriend were slouched together in a corner of the long   
couch while she herself was curled up in the other corner; her father was   
comfortably sitting in a large, deep, plush armchair that was across from them.  
  
"I still think that there are too many holovid channels now," she commented   
diplomatically as she smoothed a wrinkle out of her long skirt.   
  
"It's not this bad," Luke disagreed, "it means more variety for those who like   
to watch it."  
  
Mara, who was safely enclosed in his arms, scoffed: "Yeah, like you can talk,   
flyboy."   
  
"Okay, so perhaps I'm not the best connoisseur there is," Luke conceded, "but I   
still watch it often enough to know that it offers a wide choice of programs,"   
he defended lightly.  
  
"It certainly is entertaining," her father agreed quietly.   
  
"Yeah," Mara added, "but it also explains a lot of things about the commoners   
and our missions," she reflected out-loud while she shifted slightly against her   
boyfriend.  
"What do you mean?" Leia queried softly.  
  
She dimly noticed the slight wince that barely showed on her brother's face when   
his girlfriend spoke, but she couldn't say if it was caused by his lover's   
thought, or because she had accidentally poked him in the ribs with her elbow.   
She dismissed it as being inconsequential. She refocused on her friend who was   
answering her question.  
  
"They like violence, pettiness and destruction," the red-head commented   
seriously.  
  
"No, they don't," Leia instantly argued.  
  
"Perhaps not when they suffer from them," her father cut in quietly, almost   
wisely, "but I agree that they do show a very strong inkling toward those low,   
dangerous tendencies," he stated from his years of experience.  
  
Leia meant to defend those citizens who were unjustly accused of faults, but   
her brother was faster to reply.   
  
"It doesn't mean that they wish it for anybody, Leia," he added thoughtfully,   
reasonably, "but they do like to watch it when it's faked."  
  
"Or to afflict others with torment when they are stronger on the physical plan,"   
Mara added seriously.  
  
Leia knew that she couldn't exactly argue with them about those things; she had   
been around in the galaxy long enough to know that those things were   
unfortunately true... but at the same time, she was loath to concede her point   
this easily.   
  
They seemed to be forgetting themselves, she reflected with some frustration.  
  
"What about the three of you?" she asked them, not aggressively, but not gently   
either. "How do you think that you are seen when it comes to those three   
things?" she inquired, miffed.  
  
"I never attack the innocents," Mara retorted with a shrug of her shoulders.   
"My targets are always despicable and have hurt many people before I take care   
of them," she pointed out.  
  
"Point taken," Leia sighed in resignation. "What about you?" she asked her   
brother.  
  
"I don't relish to cause pain," he began, "but I love being in the fire of the   
moment... as long as my victims aren't innocents," he finished also seriously.  
  
Like any other soldier, Leia realized with a nod of her head. She turned   
toward her father.  
  
"My job requires me to use harsh techniques sometimes," he admitted, "but like   
Luke, I don't like them, and I try to save the innocents when I can. I'm also   
glad when the 'action' is over and peace is everywhere."  
  
Not like a monster at all, she noted mentally. The three of them had strained   
the point that they tried to save the innocents, and, she admitted to herself,   
she knew that they did.   
  
Through mass-destruction, it was always difficult to spare the lives of the ones   
they didn't target, but they themselves always managed to spare at least three-  
quarters of the untargeted population. Perhaps she was too harsh with them and-  
--  
  
"What about you, Leia?" her brother asked her seriously. "Where do you stand on   
this topic?"  
  
At first, she wanted to answer that she was completely violence-free--- but she   
suddenly remembered all the imperials she had killed during the Rebellion, all   
the deadly orders she had given... She was just as bad as they were, she   
realized in shocked horror.   
  
"I... I'm a soldier too," she finally conceded.   
  
A long silence then stretched between the four of them, solely interrupted by   
her father's breath, then Luke talked about the new ship that he had seen while   
he had been at the spaceport the previous day.  
  
The two others also jumped in, displaying yet again how much they loved   
starships and anything that had to do with them.  
  
While she listened to their sharing of statistics and comparison grids, she   
thought, not for the first time, that she wished that she had never known them   
like she did now...   
  
She didn't want them to die, not the parts of them that were normal like the   
rest of the population... If she didn't know that about those aspects of their   
personality, they would have always been darksiders, enemies, and that would   
have been 'it', but now... they were her brother, her father... her friend.   
  
She could never betray those individuals, yet... she already had, she whimpered   
inwardly.   
  
As soon as they had all been in the castle, she had secretly warned Solo via   
the comlink he had given to her. He had told her that he would attack during   
the night...   
  
And now, she couldn't even tell them about the upcoming attack without betraying   
the man she loved.  
  
Life was unfair, she pouted while striving to retain her impassible mask.  
  
The topics changed from ships to politics in the outer Rim; she tried to   
distract her tormented mind by involving herself to the fullest in this more   
than familiar topic.   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
Two hours later, Luke and Mara retired for the night, saying that they had a   
tough day waiting for them the next day.  
  
Well, they did, Luke knew. After all, they had to prepare their next, joint   
mission, then practice their flying and fighting skills. Tonight, though, that   
part of their life was far from their mind, but what Mara had in mind wasn't   
matching what he had.  
  
Up to now, which meant since her return the previous day, he had managed to hide   
his new injuries from her; he didn't want her to know that he had been hurt   
again, but he 'knew' that she was ravenous tonight.   
  
He had returned and still returned her attentions of course, but unlike   
normally, his hands hadn't attacked his clothes yet, instead keeping her from   
doing it to him by pulling her as close to himself as he could.   
She had already managed to open his first two buttons before he had stopped her,   
but he had forgotten that she was resourceful.  
  
She used the Force to undo the rest of his shirt. The moment she touched his   
back with her hands, he let out an expression of pain while she drew away in   
shock.  
  
"Luke?" she gaped, asking him to deny what she had felt.   
  
When he began to avoid her gaze, she took hold of his biceps, whirled him   
around and lifted his now open shirt. She openly gasped as she saw his still   
healing injuries.  
  
"What the--?? When were you going to tell me about that?" she asked him, dark   
annoyance creeping in her voice as she let him go.   
  
"You don't want to know," he half-whispered.  
  
Unable to face her disappointment, he crawled on four on their bed before   
settling on his stomach, the least painful position he could occupy in his   
state. She was already beside him.   
  
"No, I do want to know, and you will tell me," she told him firmly.  
  
For a long moment, Luke considered ignoring her and just trying to go to sleep,   
but when he realized that she'd just dig up in his mind to find her answers,   
something which he couldn't keep her from doing thanks to their link, he decided   
that he was better to tell her.  
  
"It is part of a deal with the master," he said quietly.  
  
"What deal?" she queried seriously.  
  
"I suffer... Leia remains alive and 'free' from him," he explained sadly.  
  
Mara nodded in understanding, then she covered his back once again before laying   
beside him on the bed. She knew exactly what he had been through, he realized.   
  
"How can you know?" he asked her in a whisper.  
  
"Do you think you're the only one who makes deals with him?" she asked him in   
compassion.  
  
"What deal?" he asked, suddenly exchanging their roles.  
  
"The right to be solely yours, Luke... to not be given any harlot missions..."   
she told him truthfully. "I hid it from you, I'm sorry," she explained even as   
she showed him a remnant of her own deal with their master.   
  
Ignoring the pain that was lancing in his back as he moved, he pulled his arm up   
and around her, then drew her closer to himself where he could kiss her forehead   
in gratitude and comfort.  
  
"Oh, Mara," he sighed. "I love you."  
  
"And I love you, Luke," she whispered back, accepting his invitation and   
cuddling even closer to him than she could.  
  
The two lovebirds easily found sleep a few minutes later.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
TBC in part 25: Sacrifice  
  
  
Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)   
Well, liked it? (Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff won't even be   
read.) 


	25. part 25: Sacrifice

Luke Vader Series: From slave to Dark Lord of the Sith  
Part 25: Sacrifice  
By SJ 12-12-00/26-12-00 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
  
  
WARNING: THIS PART DEALS WITH THE DEATH OF A FEW, MAJOR CHARACTERS. YOU ARE WARNED; IT IS AN EMOTIONAL PART.  
  
__________________  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Hours later, Leia was pacing in her newly chosen rooms. Less than a week ago, shortly after her brother's return, she had been allowed to choose other apartments if she wanted to. She had moved away from her brother's, but not that far either. She was still on the same floor than he was.  
  
When she had made her decision, it had been to not look suspicious, but   
after tonight, and knowing that Han was coming, hence that she would soon be leaving her family for good, she was aware that it was because she didn't really want to be separated from her twin.  
  
He was filling a part of her life that had always been missing; before now, she had never been close to complete happiness, but now she was... She hadn't known that he had been the 'hole' in her heart then, but now that she knew, and that she knew how... at home she felt with him in her life, she reluctantly admitted, she was moot to run away.  
  
Even though she was different from them, she was fitting in her family. She never felt pressured to change her personality, nor did she feel unwelcome   
because of who she was.   
  
On the other hand, their uncanny bond was frightening her when it came to her   
new life. She didn't want to become like her family and she was afraid that it   
would happen no matter what she did if she stayed with them.  
  
She looked around her room one last time.  
  
"I'm sorry, Luke," she whispered sorrowfully. "I hope you will understand," she   
finished in the same tone.  
  
The door silently slid shut behind her. No matter what would happen, she would never see this place again.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
Luke's warning senses suddenly went off, jarring him awake. His eyes snapped open and fell on Mara's jaded ones. She had also felt something.  
  
He reflexively reached out to check the whole palace for danger while she rolled   
out of bed, put her shirt back on, then called her weapons to her hands.  
  
"Intruders are coming out of the turbolifs, on our level and Father's," he   
informed her as he also jumped to his feet.  
  
"Solo?" she queried although she probably knew the answer already.  
  
"Yes," he confirmed grimly as he lugged his boots back on.   
  
"What's your plan?" she asked him seriously.  
  
"You and Father will take care of his accomplices," he told her grimly as he picked his weapon from the nearby bed table. "I'm going to block Solo's exit route," he finished, clipping his lightsaber to his belt. "I have a score   
to settle with him," he stated darkly.  
  
Mara nodded, then left their room to prepare her ambush. Luke also left and headed for the bank of turbolifts that was at the other end of the adjoining corridors.  
  
  
  
  
In the nearby corridor, Leia was silently padding toward the turbolifts when the lift's door opened. Han immediately spotted her and ran toward her.   
  
Their lips met together as he engulfed her in his arms; Chewie watched their   
  
backs while they took a moment to reassure each other.  
  
"I didn't expect you to be free," he whispered to her.  
  
"It looks like they've begun to trust me," she told him, her words making her   
feel bad yet again about her decision.  
  
"Good, then that should make it easier for us to leave," he commented while he   
took hold of her hand and steered her toward the other end of her corridor.   
  
"What is the rest of the plan?" she asked him.  
  
"We're leaving via the other bank of turbolifts while they're being dealt with,"   
Han whispered seriously.   
  
"You're not going to kill them, are you?" she asked him, reminding him that they   
had agreed on that part of the plan when she had called him once again.  
  
Chewie growled something which made her hair stand on ends.   
  
"You did what?!" she asked as she followed her lover, running as fast as she   
could.  
  
"You told me that they are vulnerable to quick fire, remember?" Solo told her   
as he rounded the corner. "I figured that they wouldn't be able to resist this   
kind of attack," he commented seriously.  
"But---" she gaped.  
  
No, he hadn't been supposed to kill them anymore, she wanted to argue. He had been supposed to only make sure that she was leaving them behind. She quickly reached out to check on her family. Her father was easily dispatching his attackers, apparently unfazed by Solo's strategy.  
  
She felt both heartened and discouraged by that discovery.  
  
Before she could consider it further though, she ran smack dab against Han's   
back, effectively coming to a stop in her wild run.  
  
"Going somewhere?" Luke's voice asked dangerously.  
  
Uh-oh...  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
On the floor above them, the rebel troops discovered that even if he had looked unaware, the dark lord of the Sith was not defenseless; he was in fact a much more dangerous threat than they had first evaluated.  
  
They fired repeatedly at him, trying to not give him any time off to shift his   
lightsaber, but that was pointless since the dark lord could just as easily   
shrug off the blaster bolts with a shield of some kind.  
  
  
  
  
Since he had already been primed for action, Vader didn't try to shorten the attack by crushing the rebels' blasters. Instead, he toyed with them.  
  
He first hit them with judiciously placed, unexplainable Force-blows, then he   
slowly walked closer to them until he could use his blade to either incapacitate   
them or their weapons, then, when it became too easy, changed strategy and   
attacked them with his fists and feet.   
  
The last thing they saw was his fluttering cape as it billowed in his wake.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
On the other level, Mara patiently waited for her attackers to show up.  
Their bedroom's door was keyed open.  
  
"Looking for someone?" she suavely asked from her position in the now open door.  
  
All Hell instantly broke loose, on the Rebels' side at least. She shot two of her enemies while she pushed the six others away from herself with a violent Force shove, then, she quickly dealt with two others while she passed by them.   
  
Next, she drew her lightsaber, whirled around and began to shift her blade from   
high right to low left and back again in a variation of her first block, slapping away all the bolts that came her way. While she did so, she slowly closed on her targets until she was close enough to end it.  
  
She jumped and flipped above the remaining four rebels, landed behind them and   
Dispatched them before they had realized what had happened. She then left her position to rejoin her boyfriend... and the final face-off that was about to happen.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Leia courageously looked around Han's taller body; her brother was blocking   
their path to the lift, standing in front of the lift with his arms crossed across his chest.   
  
Han and Chewie instantly prepared to fire at him. Their weapons were pulled from their grasps and to Luke's feet.  
  
"Please, Solo, spare me the childish defiance," Luke sneered sarcastically. "You know that you're beaten," he coldly stated.  
  
"Well, if it ain't the Kid," Solo sneered back although Leia felt his effort to recover from the unexplainable loss of his weapon.  
  
She then cringed as she saw her brother's feature darken minutely. This wouldn't be pretty, she decided. However, she had to admit that he was far from being a kid at the moment; he was a full-fledged dark Jedi--- and he was after Han's blood.  
  
"Leia," Luke addressed her more gently. "Please stand aside, don't make me hurt   
you."  
  
Before she could answer, Han spoke for her.  
  
"She ain't going nowhere with you, bastard!"  
  
"Nor with you," Luke commented seriously. "What would you give her anyway? A   
life on the run? A pitiful scrap you call a starship as a home?" he suggested.   
"A constant fight against her family?" he asked wisely, locking his eyes with hers once again. "Don't be foolish, sister... Please stay here where it is safe and well."  
  
"Don't listen to him, Leia," Han instantly intervened, as if feeling Luke's   
spell on her. "He might be your brother, but he is also a darksider, a monster   
who wouldn't hesitate to kill you if he had to. He's only trying to lure you to   
his side," he reminded her even as he stepped between her and the Jedi, effectively interrupting their meaningful gaze.  
  
"Leia," Luke said, taking a step forward. "please. I don't want to loose you   
again, and neither do you and you know it."  
  
  
The worst thing was that he was right, she dimly reflected through the buzz of   
her mind. Behind her, the lanky Wookiee growled something too low for her to understand him.  
  
Han did though.  
  
When Luke took another step forward, he pounced on him.  
  
"Han, no!" she exclaimed.   
  
Chewie kept her from interfering.  
  
  
  
  
  
Luke had expected Solo to loose his temper sooner or later. He had in fact been   
taunting him to do so by stepping closer. He easily blocked his first fist, then avoided his uppercut, tried one of his own attacks, thus diverting him from the roundhouse kick that connected hard with his head.   
  
"That was for calling me 'Kid'," he snarled with hatred at the dazed rebel.   
  
He hit him again and again with a knee in the throat and another kick to the head, showing the other, and his sister, what kind of fighter he was.  
  
"That was for causing me more pain than relief with your so-called first-aid."   
he sneered before chaining up even more hits with both his feet and fists this time--- then he drew his lightsaber, as if to end it.  
  
"And that is for turning my sister against her family."  
  
True to form, Leia shoved his weapon from his hand with the Force even as she freed herself from the Wookiee.  
  
"No! Luke, don't!" she begged him desperately.  
  
Luke feigned being surprised by that outburst and took a step toward her--- thus putting himself closer to the dangerous Wookiee who was going to unknowingly help him 'break' his sister.  
  
Before he had answered her, Solo was back to his feet and attacking him again.  
  
Luke turned back toward him and easily shoved him back on his back with the   
Force--- and the Wookiee hit him with all his strength, sending him reeling down   
for good.  
  
Now that hurt, he conceded as his head rang from the impact with the steel   
floor. It was worth it though since Leia interposed herself between himself and his enemies, effectively keeping them away from him.  
  
"Don't kill him!" she warned them.   
  
"Leia," Solo argued as he recovered his weapon, "you will never be free as long   
as he lives and you know it."  
  
The Wookiee agreed with him.  
  
"He is my brother, Han. I won't let you kill him even if I will leave with   
you."  
  
------She slowly walked closer to him while never leaving the Wookiee out of her   
sight.  
  
"Come on, let's go now," she warmly encouraged her lover.   
  
Luke was proud to realize that she had cast a slight spell to convince him.  
Han however was more difficult to convince.  
  
"I love you, Leia," Solo began, then leveled his blaster back at him who still   
looked as if he were too dazed to be aware of what was going on. "And that's why I'm doing this."  
  
A split second before the smuggler fired, the turbolift behind them opened; his   
father threw his activated lightsaber at the rebel leader.  
  
"No!!!!!" Leia screamed, then skillfully jumped, flipped---- and landed right behind her chosen man.  
  
Too late, Luke understood what she meant to do.  
  
"Leia!" he, his father and Mara exclaimed in horror.  
  
Luke reached out with the Force to stop the lightsaber.  
  
He was too late...   
  
Meanwhile, Mara took dealt with the furious, suddenly sole-surviving rebel.   
  
Luke barely took a second to thank her before rushing to his sister's side.  
  
"Leia, hang on, you'll be okay," he assured her, already focusing on the Force   
to keep her alive until they could put her in a bacta tank.   
  
His father was also at his side to help him.   
  
To his surprise though, she didn't let them help her. Instead, she weakly   
rested her hand over his.  
  
"Leia..." he pleaded sadly.  
  
"Luke..." she barely whispered, "please... let... me go," she begged him, then   
sought her father with her eyes.  
  
"No, no, I barely found you, I'm not---" he said, his eyes filled with desperate tears now.   
  
He barely noticed them, just like he almost didn't see what else was going on around them. The only thing he was aware of what his sister's mind which was slowly drifting away from his.  
  
"Leia, no, please!" he begged again.  
  
"I... could never... live as a... a... ssssslave....... F---ff---forgive...   
me..." she asked them as her last request.   
  
"I love you, Leia. No matter what, please don't leave me. Don't leave us," he   
pleaded with her, knowing that her waning presence could still hear him.  
  
Beside him, his father was quiet, simply resting his hand over his and hers.  
  
  
"I... loved..... you.... too..."  
  
"We will miss you, beloved daughter," his father finally told her sadly. "Go now... before he finds out," he encouraged her.   
  
Leia's eyes drifted close as a smile slightly creased her lips.  
  
*Thank you, Father,* she sent them through the Force, then she was gone and her   
body disappeared.   
  
For a long moment, Luke held his sister's clothes in his hands, his sobs now out   
of control.  
  
Why? he wanted to scream. Why couldn't it be like he had foreseen? What had he   
done wrong this time?  
  
Around him, his father withdrew his hand from his own and stood up while Mara   
slowly pulled his sister's clothes from his hands.   
  
"It's better that way, Luke. She is happier, much happier than we could ever   
make her," she tried to soothe him.  
  
"Leia would never have accepted her destiny," his father agreed sorrowfully.   
  
Their words and reasoning made sense of course, Luke admitted glumly, but that didn't help him to deal with the sudden emptiness that was inhabiting his heart.   
  
"It's your fault!" he raged impotently at the dead pilot who now laid in front of him, then hit the floor with his two fists and buried his head in his arms; he cried for all his worth.   
  
Mara's hands appeared on his shoulders, delicately trying to draw him out of the walled enclosing he was slowly drawing around himself.  
  
*Don't let me out, Luke. I'm here, just let it go,* she sent him through the   
Force.  
  
Luke didn't resist her pull; he let her draw him back to his knees than into   
her embrace where he could cry on his shoulder. In the distance, he heard his father slash a few gouges in a wall, venting his own impotent anger in his way.  
  
He would destroy the Rebels again, he promised himself as his sobs diminished in   
intensity; he would avenge his sister's death... make it worthwhile...  
  
He and Mara eventually retired to their room to mourn their lost companion while droids cleaned up the castle after the battle.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
The next day, Luke awoke to the sensation that his life was empty, a cold   
emptiness that just wouldn't go away.  
  
His sister was gone.  
  
The laughter and warmth that she had been in his heart and mind would never be   
there anymore.   
  
He clutched his blankets to himself, fighting against a fresh surge of tears.   
Behind him, his lover slowly rolled onto her side until she could comfort him   
with her close presence. He closed his eyes in sorrow when her slender fingers   
brushed in his hair.   
  
"Give yourself time to get used to it, Luke," she whispered soothingly.   
"Mourning is normal, even for us."   
  
"What isn't normal," he almost sobbed, "is that I wasn't able to save her,   
even with my powers."  
  
It was, he realized, exactly like what had happened to his father with his   
mother. He hadn't been able to save her, no matter how powerful he had been...   
And now it was repeating itself---  
  
Luke jumped to his feet, startling Mara in the process, grabbed his shirt and   
hurriedly put it on.  
  
"What are you doing?" she asked him in bemusement. "Is something wrong?"  
  
"I've got to talk with Father," he answered shortly.  
  
As if putting two and two together, his lover also jumped out of bed and put on   
her clothes.   
  
"I'm going with you," she informed him.  
  
One minute later, the two of them were riding the lift to reach the floor where   
Lord Vader had found refuge after the events of last night.  
  
  
  
  
  
Vader was sitting on the roof of his castle, not a balcony but the real roof of   
his castle.   
  
The winds were strong, buffeting here, but he didn't care. If they pushed him   
off his perch, then so be it.   
  
If they didn't, then it wasn't his time yet.   
  
He still had some things to do in this life, even if he hadn't been able to save   
his daughter...  
  
Why did every woman who was dear to his heart die in his arms?, he wondered angrily. Why couldn't he save them? Why did he let them go? Hadn't he promised that he would some day even beat Death?..  
  
He heard a slight scrapping sound; his son and lover had just found him.  
They silently sat in front of him, cross-legged.  
  
For a long moment, they remained silent, as if contemplating what they were   
going to say.  
  
Vader noticed how his son seemed greatly affected by his sister's death. The   
two of them had truly developed a bond, he understood, something which had now been ripped away from him, leaving him with an open wound.   
  
"Leia didn't do it to hurt you, Luke," he tried to comfort him.  
  
His son sighed heavily.   
  
"I know, Father, and I forgive her, but I wish... I wish..."  
  
"You wish that you had saved her from this end," he supplied for him.  
  
"Yes..."  
  
"Things happened awfully fast, yesterday," he tried to reassure his son. "If I   
had known that she would make this sacrifice, I would never have thrown my   
weapon."   
  
"I didn't know that she was able to do those acrobatics," Mara reflected   
thoughtfully.  
  
"Me either..."  
  
"Love is a most powerful force..." Vader commented seriously. "It makes us do   
even impossible feats."  
  
"Is this why you let her go?" his son asked him with just the slightest edge   
of animosity in his voice.  
  
"Yes, and no," Vader answered wistfully. "After witnessing her self-sacrifice, I knew that no matter how we would have tried, Leia would never have been happy here," he admitted sadly. "She was a free spirit... Like your mother, she needed to be free of chains to be happy."  
  
"Her fight is over now," Mara warmly agreed with him.  
  
Since they were all warriors, they knew how wonderful it felt when they could   
rest for a while.   
  
For Leia, Vader admitted, it had to be bliss.   
  
"She deserved her respite," his son finally conceded. "I just never thought   
that she'd need to die to find it."  
  
"In time, Luke," he commented, "the pain of her death will fade away, but her   
presence will always remain in our hearts."  
  
"I know..." his son whispered as he lowered his head, then he raised it once   
again, his eyes harder, more determinate. "I will make her death worthwhile,   
Father, I swear it."  
  
"How?" Mara asked him.  
  
"By making sure that no other family ever has to be split up like ours was. If I can, I will spare this trauma to all the children of the galaxy. No parent should have to fight against their own, stolen children. I will destroy the Rebellion, and make everyone 'accept' the Imperial peace."  
  
"Do you realize what it means for you?" his father pointed out.  
  
"I don't care, I will do whatever I have to do to insure peace and unity in the   
galaxy. I give you my word that nobody else will ever feel the pain I am   
dealing with at the moment," he told them most seriously.  
  
Mara took his hand in hers. "If the master allows me, Luke, I'm with you," she   
informed him.  
  
"What about you, Father?" his son asked him.  
  
For a moment, the older Vader studied his son. A new, dangerous fire was slowly   
burning up in his eyes, denoting a maturity and drive he had never displayed   
before.   
  
With his sister's unfortunate death, he realized that Luke had completed his mental transition from mere agent to full-fledged Dark Lord of the Sith.  
  
He knew that his son would reach his end.  
  
"We need to talk to the Emperor," he told the two younger adults as he slowly   
stood up.  
  
  
  
  
The three of them reported to their master and knelt in respect at his feet.   
  
"I heard about last night," he told them without preamble.   
  
"Leia is dead, Master, and so are the rebels who were trying to rescue her,"   
Vader said stoically.  
  
"Rebels?" the Emperor asked in unpleasant surprise.   
  
"Thanks to her, Master," Luke explained. "we have found out that the Rebels are   
reorganizing and I ask for your permission to resume the chase," Luke asked him   
seriously.  
  
"It is not a permission, young Vader, but an order," he told him darkly. "I   
don't want that pestilence to reappear in my galaxy!" he spat.  
  
"You won't, Master. I guarantee it," Luke answered darkly, his eyes flashing   
dangerously as he rose from his respectful bow.  
  
No one would resist him, he thought once again in grim determination.  
  
"I would like to help him, Master, and avenge Leia's death," Mara spoke up.   
  
"Granted," the Emperor nodded. "Lord Vader, you will work with them to destroy the Rebellion once and for all."  
  
"With pleasure, Master," the dark lord bowed in acceptance.  
  
"Inform me of your strategy once you will have one, young Vader," the ruler instructed him seriously.   
  
"I already have an idea, Master," the youth admitted, then began to explain what he had in mind.  
  
Both his lover and father turned toward him, impressed by his cunning intelligence, then agreed to follow his lead as they prepared to set up their different strategies to vanquish the rebellious galaxy once and for all.  
  
With that, the Emperor dismissed them for the moment; the three darksiders walked down the stairs, side by side, letting their steps guiding them toward their new missions and destinies.  
  
The fire of the Dark Side was crackling in their core and flashing in their   
eyes; the galaxy had better braced himself for they were on the prowl this time,   
and no one would stop them from reaching their end.  
  
No one would ever defy the Empire ever again. Everybody would be content to be   
under their master's protection.  
  
  
  
TBC in Redemption part 1: Darkest Hours  
  
  
Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)   
Well, liked it? (Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff won't even be   
read.) 


	26. Redemption 1: Darkest Hours

Redemption  
Part 1: Darkest hours  
By SJ 12-23-01/05-03-02 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas.   
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
  
It was now three weeks since Leia's death, three weeks since a new war had begun   
against the remaining Rebels.  
  
Lord Vader stood in his favorite spot near the main bay-window of the bridge of   
his flagship, the Executor.  
  
Behind him, the reports kept coming in from the spying droids that were   
stationed all along the main hyperspace routes, informing him if they detected   
the presence of dubious spaceships currently in hyperspace transit.  
  
While he had been the first one to greatly doubt his son's idea and the   
feasibility of such a detection tool, he now gladly admitted that he had been   
wrong.  
  
Luke, with the help of the best technicians at his disposal, had developed a new   
type of probe droids which could pierce the veil of hyperspace and scan each   
flashing-by-ship for weapons, unusual amount of passengers in non-registered   
cruise ships, and even for vaguely rebel-reminding designs.  
  
If the droids identified a suspect, they tracked down its trajectory and sent it   
under a priority one signal to the Executor.  
  
So far, the new gadgets had functioned marvelously well. His part of the fleet   
had intercepted half of the ships which had used the main routes throughout the   
galaxy, and only fifteen percent of those captured ships had proven harmless and   
been released.  
  
His son's strategy was once again genius, he reflected with pride, then he dimly   
wondered where he was taking all his inventive tactics; he himself would never   
have thought about the hyperspace routes as a mean to intercept unsuspecting   
Rebels. However, he would have blockaded planet after planet until he were sure   
that no rebel base or sympathizers were gathering on its surface.  
  
He had to admit that it wouldn't have been quite as efficient as his son's idea.  
He didn't resent him, of course, but, he conceded to himself, he was slightly   
upset that his son was slowly supplanting him in the Emperor's favors.  
  
Oh, he admitted, his child had more than earned everything he was granted, and   
it was also long overdue as far as he was concerned, but he had never expected   
that his son's rising out of the shadows would mean that he himself would slowly   
yield his favored position with the Emperor.  
  
He... wasn't ready to retire yet, he thought seriously. He was still relatively   
young, and he too wanted to avenge his daughter's murder at the Jedis' hands.  
  
After all, he thought , feeling a fresh surge of anger at the memories of the   
past, it was their lies and the resulting brainwash that had caused Leia's   
death. Without them, she would have taken her place in her rightful family...   
and she would still be alive.  
  
Suddenly feeling a dangerous wave of sadness invade him, he hurried to shut the   
sensitive mental door that he had just opened and hurried to recover his initial   
track of thoughts.  
  
His son, he remembered,... and his shining more darkly than ever in the Imperial   
spotlight.  
  
He would never, ever keep his son from enjoying what was his due, he reflected   
seriously, not even if it meant for him to step out of the spotlight.  
  
Right now however, he didn't want to be left in the background for their very   
important mission; it meant just as much to him as it did to his son.  
  
Of course, he conceded seriously, he hadn't been exactly 'as' vocal about that   
as his son had been, but then, he had never been the talkative type either.  
  
However, the Emperor had shown a little 'too much' interest in Luke's ideas and   
he himself had almost given the impression that he didn't care about his role in   
their vendetta.  
  
But he 'did' care.  
  
He wanted to take out as many rebel units as he could, and he would make sure   
that no other family would experience what his children, his wife and himself   
had been through because of the Jedis and the rebels, two hated groups which   
were issued from the same propaganda that never brought anything but destruction   
to its followers.  
  
But not for much longer, he reminded himself darkly as he envisioned his and his   
son's goal. Soon, Imperial peace would truly settle over the Empire and his   
daughter's death would be avenged.  
  
And, he added in personal pride, he would show the Emperor that he wasn't   
getting old now that Luke had grown into an adult servant. He could still serve   
him as well as before.  
  
"Prepare for the jump to hyperspace," he ordered to Admiral Ozzel who had been   
silently awaiting his orders. "Those Rebel pirates won't escape us," he snarled   
vehemently.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Parsecs away, aboard his own super star destroyer, the Annihilator, Luke Vader   
watched in dark satisfaction as a battle kept raging all around his division of   
the Fleet.   
  
Mara's information had once again been right, he smiled meanly as a Rebel X-wing   
exploded right in his line of vision.  
  
One more death to avenge Leia's.  
  
While he surveyed the rest of the battle, leaving the specifics to Admiral   
Piett, his hand-picked second-in-command, he thought back to the past three   
weeks.  
  
The moment that they had exited the Emperor's throne room after Leia's death, he   
and Mara had boarded the Annihilator and set up their plan for the final   
destruction of the Alliance. Then, his father had agreed to carry out his   
strategy to keep an eye on the main intergalactic-traffic lanes while he himself   
would focus on the bases of the renegades. The sole purpose of his ideas had   
been to insure the success of his goal, he conceded, but it had happened to   
greatly please the Emperor, a rare occurrence in itself.  
  
His master had commanded him for his genius creativity and resourcefulness,   
especially since it didn't involve destroying any imperial resource for once.   
Luke had to admit that he appreciated the ruler's rare praises; for once, he   
hadn't seemed to mind his care for his sister and the rest of the population.  
  
Well, he conceded, it was driving him onward this time; it more than served even   
the Emperor's purposes.  
  
Throughout the past two weeks, he had served him well indeed.  
  
While he himself had concentrated his attacks on the bases that Mara uncovered   
for him, his father had patrolled the Galactic main corridors of transit to   
intercept either Rebel sympathizers or Rebel pirates which were now threatening   
the safety of the good citizens.  
  
Luke scorned at that thought: pirates...   
  
He knew that his sister would never have let any rebel stoop this low...  
  
Even worse, he snarled inwardly, they were taking advantage of their 'new'   
activities to spread the news of their re-emergence, enrolling new soldiers   
aboard the ships they captured.  
  
They 'had' to be stopped, he thought again with fresh, dangerous determination.  
  
When the last rebel fighter exploded, he turned away from the huge bay-window   
and returned to his tactical display.  
  
New data from Mara had been downloaded in it. While he studied it, he dimly   
surmised that she had probably sent it just before she had jumped into   
hyperspace with the few 'survivors' who had been allowed to escape. Much like   
when he himself had been a 'rebel' but no one would know that, he smiled grimly.   
Despite her being his consort in the Imperial court, Mara was still unknown to   
everybody. Nobody could relate her to him while in missions.  
  
Pressing his right hand against the edge of the table/display, he flipped a   
switch with his left index and compared the data with the one that had been   
gleaned by the Intelligence spies.  
  
Soon, he decided, they would have to intervene in the regular population, not   
only where Rebel bases were located.  
  
There were only two of those left, he smirked darkly.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
At the Rebel base on Criartro 11, Mara Jade forced down another rebel ration bar   
without grimacing too much.  
  
While she knew that the lack of supplies meant that the Rebels would soon be   
history, for real this time, there was still a limit as to what was considered   
edible and the rebel's bars were at its very limit. As she continued her   
insipid, disgusting meal, she reflected that she could now understand what her   
boyfriend had been through to be allowed to claim his true name after bringing   
them victory. She promised herself that she would never tease him anymore when   
he would complain about that time of his life. Low technology, tin cans for   
fighter ships, dirty clothes... almost no warm water in the hideouts, and   
horribly bad food: now she knew why he spent so much time in their quarters when   
he could.   
  
Even more, she would now be delighted to accompany him... when he would recover   
her, of course. When they would have avenged Leia...   
  
Leia... It was still hard to believe that she would never see her again---  
  
"Hey, Arica!" a young, inexperienced and annoying pilot suddenly called as he   
stepped closer to her. "You'll be late for the meeting if you don't get there   
soon," he smiled at her.  
  
Mara refrained herself from rolling her eyes in annoyance; the Kid was   
undoubtedly stricken with her. She pretended to recover her full-awareness,   
then looked up as worriedly as she could at the youth.  
  
"Oh, uh... just worried, I guess," she explained as she stood to her feet. "So   
little of us made it through this time," she continued, making her voice crack   
slightly in tension.  
  
"I know," Yuli nodded, then cheered up a bit, "but I think we're not done yet.   
High command has a back-up plan, or so I heard."  
  
Interested for real this time, she straightened up, then gazed seriously at the   
young, foolish man.  
  
"Then what are we waiting for?" she asked him with a barely perceptible edge in   
her voice.  
  
The kid completely missed it; Mara made the best of her new opportunity to help   
her boyfriend avenge his sister's death.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
On Coruscant, deeply ensconced in his throne, the Emperor jubilated.  
  
When the Skywalker girl had appeared in his world of perfect control, he had had   
a foreboding feeling that she would cause him trouble, especially with her   
brother whom he still hadn't been able to corrupt completely.  
  
However, his worries had proven vain.  
  
The girl's relationship with her family had served him better than anything he   
could have foreseen, driving the remaining members into a frenzy of revenge that   
more than served his dark purposes. The son was now as ensnared as the father   
had been for years now, ever since the death of his wife in fact. Even now, he   
didn't have to tell the Vaders what to do to please him; they did it by   
themselves.  
  
Of course, he conceded, they always did those in 'her' name, but their hatred   
was so pure and strong that he didn't mind... for the moment at least. He kept   
a close eye on them though, making sure that their hatred remained aimed at   
their enemies, not himself. He knew all too well how intelligent his servants   
were, and how they 'might' unravel the chains which he had so carefully wrapped   
them with. If they became aware of those, he had no doubt that they would blame   
him for the death of the girl... and their powers would be turned against him.  
  
However, he reflected seriously, he didn't worry much about the Vaders loyalty;   
they were both his slaves, had never known anything much in their lives except   
their service to him, and they were content with it, but, he shrugged inwardly,   
he hadn't become Emperor without being wary about potential trouble.  
  
And trouble it would be if his slaves were to turn their revenge against him;   
the two men were much more powerful than he himself was, especially the youth   
who still held a remnant of his disgusting good heart in himself.  
  
Upon that thought, he called up the latest report from one of his spies aboard   
the boy's ship. His Hand, a man this time, hadn't detected anything abnormal   
with his 'Lord'. He was driven to destroy the Rebels and stopped at nothing to   
reach his goal.   
  
'Just so,' the Emperor smiled to himself in brief relief. As long as he hated,   
he couldn't care, let alone love.  
  
Except Mara Jade.  
  
When the two of them had been partner, allowing their closer relationship had   
served him magnificently, but now that they were serving him separately, he   
reflected coldly that he would have to force them apart without their being   
aware of it. The genuineness of their love for one another downright sickened   
him, and more than displeased him when it came to his control over them.  
  
Love was like the Jedi Order: a pestilence to get rid of.  
  
Yes, he thought seriously, he would slowly push the two youths away from one   
another and would continue to monitor his three servants; if he ever detected   
even the slightest sign of a change of attitude, he would remind them 'who' was   
their master. He called up another report, this time from Vader's flagship, and   
continued his study of his actual operations.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
A week later, Lord Vader stalked down the noisy corridors of the captured   
frigate, separating Rebel sympathizers from the rest of the passengers... and   
doing his best to ignore the cries of the children and/or companions of the said   
rebels as they were separated from their loved ones.  
  
'It is for the best,' he reminded himself sternly as he watched his troops pull   
yet another struggling man away from his frightened family. Those few   
sacrifices would serve the larger population by bringing about true peace and   
happiness, he reminded himself yet again.   
  
However, even his cool reasoning couldn't resist the wails of a fair-haired   
toddler who had just been pulled away from his father; he himself turned away   
from him, unable to bear his despair and grief.   
  
He wouldn't let this affect him, he berated himself, then forced himself to   
focus on the ongoing operation.  
  
Unfortunately, instead of taking note of his troops efficiency against the   
struggling prisoners, or to even feel content that the captured cargo would hurt   
the remaining rebel fighters, the only thing that he was aware of was the rest   
of the passengers who were being contained by his troops... The women or men who   
were trying to break free to rejoin their lost ones... The children who were   
clutching the legs or waists of their remaining parents.  
  
The sadness of he had generated with his intervention aboard this ship.   
  
For one of the rare times in his life, Lord Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, shut   
his eyes in disgust at the pain he was responsible for, then caught himself and   
forced them to re-open. He wouldn't feel regret, he resolved seriously; he   
wouldn't 'feel'.  
  
Reaching a decision, he stepped closer to the crying child, who reminded him so   
much of his own son when he had met him--- and swiftly picked him up from where   
he had sat down on the floor to cry as loudly as he could. As he had expected,   
his action scared the child mute; the rest of the crowd also grew deathly quiet.  
  
"Don't hurt him, my Lord, please!" a woman nearby suddenly begged.  
  
Vader gazed a little longer in the scared, brown eyes of the toddler, then back   
at the assembled passengers.  
  
"I will not harm any of you..., nor your loved-ones," he added on impulse,   
surprising himself with his decision.  
  
Nice, he instantly scolded himself. Now he had to deal with that without losing   
his mask.  
  
As he expected, everyone present gaped at him in disbelief, prisoners and face-  
plate-covered stormtroopers alike.  
  
"I will not harm them," he repeated seriously, "but I will not return them to   
you until they pledge never to defy the Empire again," he finished, inwardly   
sighing in relief.  
  
That had been close, he admitted to himself.  
  
"Without the Rebellion, there is no war, hence, no suffering. Always remember   
that," he commented with a threatening touch in his voice. "All of you...  
  
  
  
******   
  
  
  
"...we're doing this for your own good and happiness," Luke Vader finished   
seriously.  
  
While the older teenager seemed angry enough to try and jump him, his younger   
sisters and brothers reflexively nodded out of fear of the young Dark Lord.  
  
Luke locked his warning glare on the young man for as long as he felt danger   
from him, then, once the other had subsided, prepared to leave.   
  
Behind them, his troops had finished to hustle the adults outside; the rest of   
the area had also been cleared out and all the rebel sympathizers were being   
gathered in waiting transports.  
  
Since they would be leaving children to their own devices, the help that Luke   
had ordered the local governments to provide was already there. Two elderly   
women came up in the entrance of the house, ready to take care of the children.  
  
Luke refocused on the group of children.  
  
"Now, be good children and be faithful to the Empire," he told them coolly, then   
turned on his heel and left the house.  
  
"I want Mommy!!" a little girl instantly cried, piercing his cool attitude with   
her scream of despair; he tried to ignore her.  
  
However, when he exited the house to step into the night, he heard similar begs   
and cries from the other children nearby.   
  
This was the unpleasant part of his job, he decided sadly, but he had no choice,   
he sternly reminded himself. If Rebel sympathizers weren't dealt with, then   
other children would be forced apart from their parents... perhaps even from   
their siblings. He wouldn't allow it, he resolved once again; he strode toward   
his shuttle.  
  
"My Lord," General Veers bowed to him as he came up in the area that was lit by   
his shuttle's landing spots.  
  
Around them, some troopers were still dealing with prisoners while others were   
destroying the confiscated Rebel propaganda.  
  
"Are we finished, General?" he asked him even as he dimly wished that they were,   
indeed, done here.   
  
They had made enough children cry for a while...  
  
"Yes, Lord Vader," the man nodded. "The Rebels have been stunned as per your   
orders and are being transferred to the Avenger for transportation to the mines   
of Kessel."  
  
"Belay that order," he commented almost out of reflex, surprising himself with   
his own set of mind.  
  
"My Lord?" the other asked uncertainly.  
  
For a moment, Luke gazed back at the well-lit houses that used to be filled with   
young laughter and love. They would be empty of such feelings for a long   
while... unless...  
  
"Transfer the prisoners to my ship," he ordered, recovering his composure before   
turning back toward his subordinate. "I will take care of them myself."  
  
"As you wish, my Lord," Veers bowed, then left him alone to correct his orders.  
  
Luke for his part turned once again toward the area that they had just invaded',   
then closed his eyes in grief.  
  
If only there weren't any Rebels, he wished fervently, then he wouldn't have to   
separate those children from their parents... Yes, he decided as he re-opened   
his eyes and gazed steadily at the results of his operation, the Rebels were the   
problem, not him nor the Empire. It was time to end it once and for all, he   
resolved, then whirled around and headed up the ramp of his waiting shuttle.  
  
Aboard, his pilots waited for him to be seated before they initiated their take-  
off.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Later that night, Luke sat pensively in his chair of his tactical room.  
While it lacked the round meditation/environmental chamber of his father's   
reception room, he had kept the round design for the boards, thus making it   
possible for him to sit in the middle of them... while he was surrounded by a   
huge hologram of the galaxy.  
  
However, he wasn't paying much attention to it at the moment; instead, he was   
staring absently at his next target, the rebels' last base while reflecting yet   
again about the events of the day.  
  
He didn't want to kill the children's parents, he finally, reluctantly admitted   
to himself. Even though some of them had been rebel leaders in-the-pod, they   
had still had a family, children to love and care for... He would be as bad as   
the Jedis had been if he killed the parents as if they were vulgar Rebel   
soldiers and thus deprived their children from them... like he himself and his   
sister had been deprived of their parents, he thought sadly at the past... On   
the other hand, he reflected more coolly, forcing himself to recover his   
composure, he couldn't let them go. He wouldn't allow the Rebellion to go on,   
thus causing more suffering.  
  
His tactical holo suddenly disappeared as a calling signal informed him that   
someone was trying to reach him.  
  
Slowly, he swiveled his chair toward the comm board to see who was calling him;   
he threw the activation switch with the Force. His father's helmeted head   
appeared on the comm screen of the wall which was now in front of him.   
  
Unlike the Emperor's huge holos, he and his father preferred to not invade each   
other's environment 'too' much when they contacted each other.  
  
"Father," he greeted, remaining in his seat.  
  
"Son," his father returned coolly. "How was your operation on Carlama?"  
  
"Successful," he answered shortly, refraining himself from showing any sign of   
his regrets regarding the results of the operation. "And you? Did you catch   
your sympathizers?"  
  
"Yes," his father nodded briefly.  
  
Then, both fell silent... as if waiting for the other to say something.  
  
"Their children were with them," the older Vader finally informed him.  
  
Given his own recent experience, Luke understood immediately what he meant. His   
father had the same problems that he himself did.  
  
"We can't kill them as if they were soldiers," he surmised even as he nodded in   
understanding and compassion.  
  
"I take it that you had a similar experience then," his father commented   
seriously.  
  
"Yes, I did," Luke admitted, slightly casting his eyes downward at this before   
glancing upward once again. "I don't know what to do with the prisoners," he   
continued, allowing himself to share his incertitude with his father.  
  
Except for Mara, he was the only being with whom he allowed himself to be his   
true self, caring, not always sure of himself, yet devoted to their master.  
  
"I do," his father answered, slightly turning aside from the screen to enter   
some data on his end of the communication. "I didn't know if I could share this   
with you or not," he then commented as he faced his screen once again.  
  
His father was worried that he wouldn't understand him?, he wondered. This had   
to be the first time that something seemed to come between them, he reflected   
seriously. Then he read the data that appeared on his screen and understood.  
Saving the lives of traitors wasn't the regular attitude for either dark lords.  
However, he realized as he read on, his father didn't mean to simply release   
them, but to re-educate them...  
  
Luke admitted that it was much more clever than any of the ideas that he had had   
for the past hours.  
  
  
  
  
Sectors away, Vader studied his son while he read his suggestion.   
  
How different he was from the young slave whom he had purchased so many years   
ago now, he reflected with a touch of sadness... His small, young face had   
changed into the handsome features of a young man who would, were he not a Dark   
Lord of the Sith, still attract his fair share of womanly attention, he admitted   
in fatherly pride.   
  
His small body, for its part, had developed into an athletic, strong frame which   
his cloak and leather-dress uniforms took care to enhance, leaving no doubt as   
to his status of near-absolute power.  
  
His very sharp mind, which had allowed him to survive his trials, had turned him   
into a shrewd tactician and efficient commander, and, finally, his depthless   
potential was now tamed, allowing his son to be perfect control of his almost   
limitless Force abilities.  
  
He truly was his father's son, he smiled, bitter-sweet.  
  
"This is very interesting, Father," the younger man finally commented. "Have   
you ever tried it before?"  
  
"No," he admitted, "but deeper brainwash never failed. With the Force, we could   
make sure that this one focuses only on the aspect of their rebellion, leaving   
the memories of their families and every-day lives safe."  
  
"And we would be able to return them to their children," his son finished with a   
nod. "Does the Emperor agree?" he asked almost instantly.  
  
Vader frowned slightly at the mention of their master, surprising himself with   
his reflex.  
  
"Why wouldn't he agree?" he finally inquired seriously. "We will accomplish our   
goal."  
  
"I know," his son nodded, "but it is also unusual for us to spare our targets   
like this," he pointed out seriously. "I don't want to attract his   
disapproval," he finished, somewhat grimmer.  
  
Vader conceded that his son's wariness was more than understandably after his   
last punishment; the Emperor wasn't lenient when his servants' tactics didn't   
please him.  
  
"He won't be angry this time, Luke," he reassured him. "While we will keep   
those beings alive and return them to their families, their rebel personalities   
will be annihilated."  
  
His intelligent youth took a moment to ponder his suggestion, then he finally   
nodded in agreement.  
  
"You're right. We could even establish this as a standard procedure for the   
two of us," he suggested seriously.  
  
"Beginning tomorrow," the older Vader agreed instantly. "I don't want to keep   
those children orphaned any longer than I have to," he continued, his voice   
suddenly filled with an emotion that he recognized as sorrow...  
  
For his actions, he realized in stark shock; he forced himself to refrain   
himself from showing any signs of his inner thoughts to his son.  
  
"Me either," Luke answered, having missed his peculiar set of mind, "but I will   
return them 'after' I took care of the last base," he commented seriously,   
giving him one more proof that while his son still cared about the innocents, he   
was more driven than he himself was in regards to the Rebels.  
  
However, he was slightly afraid that his son's hatred and anger were dangerously   
close to snuff out what he loved most in his dear boy: his good heart.  
  
"Once this threat is dealt with," the younger man continued coolly, "I will   
brainwash and release the apprehended citizens. Their children are in good   
hands for the moment; a few days won't matter much. However, a few more days of   
Rebel activity in the galaxy 'will' make a big difference in all our lives."  
  
Vader absently nodded in agreement. In fact though, he was... distraught by his   
son's speech. He had sounded exactly like he himself had before he had met him,   
nearly nine years ago now...   
  
Before he had realized what a monster he had become.  
  
Before he had hurt his own son because of his dangerous anger and hatred.  
  
He didn't want Luke to become like this, he suddenly realized, didn't want him   
to stop caring about the innocents and the children.  
  
"Don't delay anymore then," he commented out loud, as if he were encouraging him   
to finish it with the Rebels.  
  
In fact though, he was more and more aware that he meant to not delay his   
intervention with his prisoners so that they could be returned to their   
families.  
  
"I won't," Luke answered, smiling tightly in grim determination.   
  
"Good night, then, Son," he told him more gently than he intended.  
  
His son perched an eyebrow at him, but he didn't comment on his sudden lack of   
composure.  
  
"You too, Father," he wished him back, his voice equally gentler than during   
their whole conversation.  
  
He wasn't completely consumed by the Dark Side, he sighed in relief; his son was   
just temporarily giving a little more into his hatred, but not too much either.  
  
They both turned off their communication devices.  
  
Once alone, Vader allowed himself to shake his head at himself.  
  
What was wrong with him these days, he asked himself in annoyance. First, he   
had grieved his daughter in the wake of her death, something he hadn't even   
done for her mother, then he cared about his victims, and tonight, he didn't   
want his son to be consumed by the Dark Side... What would come next? he asked   
himself sarcastically. Return to the Light and its feeble skills???  
  
He impulsively whirled around, meaning to spend his disgust and frustration in a   
physical way--- he stopped short in utter disbelief.  
  
Right in front of him, where he had thought that there was only thin air... an   
angel was standing, surrounded by an aureole of light.  
  
"Good evening, Father," Leia said gently.  
  
  
  
  
  
TBC in part 2: Messenger  
  
  
Found it interesting? Hope so :)  
  
  
SJ: Skyjade@globetrotter.net (any positive stuff is welcome, but negative or   
mean comments will be thrown down the Sarlacc's throat without being read.) 


	27. Redemption 2: Messenger

Redemption  
Part 2: Messenger  
By SJ 12-23-01/ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas.   
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
  
The Dark lord of the Sith took two steps backward in shock, bumping into his   
computer bank. Were he not wearing a leather suit and armor, he would pinch   
himself to make sure that he wasn't dreaming.  
  
"I'm real, Father," his daughter smiled gently at him.  
  
As if reading his thoughts, he reflected dimly.  
  
"I do, Father," the gentle soul of his beloved daughter nodded kindly at him.   
"I am with you."  
  
"But-----but you're dead," he finally half-whispered, his voice still tight in   
his throat thanks to his disbelief.  
  
"My body is," Leia agreed softly, "but my soul will always be with you and the   
Force."  
  
Vader remained silent, unable to think of either a proper answer nor denial to   
her statement.  
  
Leia continued. "You are not who you think you are, Father," she told him more   
seriously.  
  
That shocked him. Not who he thought he was?  
  
"I am a Dark Lord of the Sith, daughter, always will---" he stated, but fell   
silent when she slowly shook her head at him.  
  
"Not anymore... Anakin," she smiled gently at him.   
  
"I'm not---" he instantly objected, but couldn't continue his tirade as his   
daughter spoke on.  
  
"You are beginning to see past your feelings and cool demeanor, Father; you are   
becoming aware of the changes that are taking place in your heart and soul."  
  
"I am 'not' changing back," he stated vehemently, taking a threatening step   
closer to her. "I'm a dark lord of the Sith, powerful, influential, and I am   
content with this life."  
  
"But not happy," his daughter reminded him, impervious to his attempt to be   
defiant.   
  
However, he himself was vulnerable to her attacks; her gentle wisdom speared his   
cloak of lies like a needle... and poked hard at his heart. It shocked him   
still.   
  
"I have been with you, and Luke, for the past weeks, Father," she told him   
gently, slowly taking a few steps closer until she was standing right in front   
of him, gazing deeply into his hidden eyes.   
  
Vader couldn't help but feel helpless for he suddenly understood that she could   
read his soul like an open book. No, he tried to defy the unavoidable, no, she   
was wrong. He wasn't Anakin again...  
  
He took a step away from her; she followed him.  
  
"I came tonight, Father, to tell you that you don't have to be afraid of your   
true self," she reassured him, lifting an ethereal hand to his faceplate, as if   
to caress it. "You are on the path of redemption, the path that you can feel   
but that you don't want to accept as the truth."  
  
"I will not accept it," he suddenly jerked away from her even as he completely   
stepped away from her. "There is no Light inside of me anymore---"  
  
"Your love and care has rekindled your Light, Anakin," his daughter refuted   
softly, then slowly dissolved into thin air, but not before adding: "and this   
same Light allows me to remain with you."  
  
Then she was gone, leaving him with more questions about himself than he had   
ever dared ask himself.  
  
She was wrong, he tried to convince himself; Leia didn't know him.  
  
She didn't know his dark-bloated heart, all the evil that he had wrought and   
that would never be undone. She was wrong, he repeated himself, trying to hold   
those words as true in his heart.  
  
Unfortunately, they drifted away from him, as if unreal.  
  
Vader reflexively focused to retain them--- but instead, a memory of the crying   
child in the Rebel transport came back to him.  
  
The crying child.  
  
He had never cared for the children as much as he had today. Before today, he   
had always dismissed the remaining victims of his cruelty as being well and   
alive; the rest didn't matter. But not anymore, he reluctantly admitted to   
himself. Now, he couldn't imagine being the cause of another child's wail of   
anguish, of a lover's broken heart. He couldn't---  
  
No!, he objected violently, jerking himself away from the thought of not serving   
the Emperor. He couldn't, wouldn't even entertain such thought; the Emperor had   
saved his life, had helped him avenge his lost love, and he had even allowed him   
to save his son when he had found him.  
  
He owed him everything, he reminded himself.  
  
Everything...   
  
Even pain?, his inner self asked him mercilessly. Even the need to submit his   
son to a rigorous, harsh training in order to save his life... to do the   
Emperor's bidding? To... punish him for a hard-won victory which had required a   
serious sacrifice from the Emperor... As a memory of his son's tormented   
features came back to him, Vader knew what the answer was.  
  
No.  
  
No, all those horrible deeds weren't worth what the Emperor had 'done' for him,   
nothing would ever justify this cruelty, yet... He wasn't a fool either; he   
knew that he couldn't defy the Emperor, let alone destroy him. He had no choice   
but to obey him... He was... his----  
  
No!, he instantly, vehemently denied the truth that had just slammed in his   
mind.  
  
He was not a slave... his son wasn't a slave anymore... They just served the   
Emperor, worked for him without a pay, but he provided for them.  
  
'And if you disobey him or displease him,' his inner voice reminded him, 'you   
pay with your pain.'  
  
"Shut up!" he whispered fiercely even as he worked harder than before to keep   
images of his son's torment out of his mind.   
  
Unfortunately, he was fighting a loosing battle. The memories were still very   
vivid in his memory; he couldn't block them out. He closed his eyes in torment.   
  
It didn't help him. Instead, the horrid images soon mingled with his most   
recent memories of the afternoon, creating a cacophony of agony that was so   
horrible that he re-opened his eyes to block out the cruelty that he was   
responsible for.  
  
He knew why he had become such a monster, he finally whimpered as his slavery   
became more and more obvious to him: he had 'had' to obey his master... his   
slaver.  
  
Please, he weakly begged with the Force, no, it couldn't be true...  
  
As if to answer him, a very old memory of a discussion with his son came back to   
him.   
  
Back then, he had berated his 'slave' for his daring thought, but now... he   
sadly admitted that he had been right. Despite his very young age, Luke had   
seen right through the rituals and ceremonious speech... and uncovered his oh-  
so-well concealed enslavement. However, instead of accepting the truth, he   
himself had forged yet another link into both his own chain and his son's,   
scaring the child from ever having such thoughts ever again...  
  
And here they were...  
  
"What have I done?" he moaned to himself, "What have I done?.."  
  
And how, he dimly wondered, was he going to break free now...  
  
******  
  
  
The next day, unaware of the awful night that his father had just spent, Luke   
went about his duties as he was supposed to.  
  
At last, he was going to recover Mara, he thought with an eagerness that shooed   
away the dark clouds of his lust for revenge. He couldn't wait to see her   
again, to hold her in his arms, to feel her breath against his face as he   
watched her sleep in the morning.  
  
She was, he reflected, the best thing that happened to him, day after day after   
day.  
  
Thanks to those cursed rebels though, he hadn't seen her for almost a month now.   
Combined with his sister's death, it made him feel lonelier than ever.  
  
He didn't like it one single bit.  
  
The turbolift's computer informed him that he had reached his destination.  
  
Forcing himself to recover his commanding composure, he stalked out of the   
opening lift, his black cloak billowing in his wake like an angry cloud.  
  
His presence was immediately felt on the bridge; it grew quieter, filled only   
with the useful exchange of orders and information.  
  
Admiral Piett bowed his head in welcome.  
  
Luke barely returned the attention.  
  
"What is our status, Admiral?" he demanded coolly.  
  
The other raised his head once again, then called up an update of the tactical   
display. Nine blue dots instantly appeared, converging on the small moon of the   
long dead planet Naboo.  
  
"Those rebels sure chose a dead spot this time," general Veers commented under   
his breath.  
  
"It is fitting for their end," Luke retorted coldly. "Launch a quarter of the   
TIE fighters from each ship. Deploy the ships in a blockade pattern," he   
ordered his subordinate, then focused on his general of ground troops. "You and   
your men will flush them out of their base. I want prisoners."  
  
"Yes, My Lord," Veers bowed, then turned on his heel and left the bridge.  
  
At the rebel base, no one noticed their approach thanks to Mara's tampering with   
the surveillance system.  
  
  
  
The final attack was swift, crushing, and successful. While Veers troops   
invaded the base to take prisoners, the TIE fighter pilots destroyed all the   
rebel fighters before they could take off, then took care to disable their   
larger transports when they tried to leave from the south pole of the moon.  
  
They had won once again, Luke thought as he left his landed shuttle and headed   
toward his troops' location.  
  
No less than twenty rebels had been captured and were recovering from stun   
blasts.  
  
Mara was already awake and waiting for him.  
  
Had he not have to save her cover, he would have freed her right away and be   
done with the others, but he didn't know if he would need her help again or not.  
  
Hence, he remained aloof as far as she was concerned.  
  
Instead, he walked up to the assembled prisoners, then took hold of an officer   
by the throat; without the Force, he effortlessly pulled him up and off the   
deck.  
  
"Where are the other bases?" he asked him, tightening his hold on his neck.   
  
When the other remained silent, he truly proceeded to strangle him.  
  
"Aaah, there are... no... other bases," the prisoner finally gasped out; Luke   
was satisfied to feel the truth of his words.  
  
At last, he sighed in contentment, Leia was avenged; he pulled the struggling   
man closer to his face, then sneered: "Thank you."  
  
He then meant to strangle him anyway, but strangely enough, he couldn't do it.   
  
Aware that he wasn't alone, he didn't dawdle on this strange thought; he dropped   
his burden as if in disgust.  
  
"Take them with the other prisoners," he snapped, then sent to his lover: *Give   
them serious trouble; I'll take you with me.*  
  
*Count on me, flyboy,* Mara sent back seriously, then was hustled back to her   
feet by rough hands.  
  
Luke turned toward his discussing officers while he watched from the corner of   
his eye as his girlfriend allowed herself to be herded with the others--- then   
skillfully began to dispatch them before they managed to secure her once again.  
  
By the time that Luke reached the 'struggle', she had managed to incapacitate   
yet another trooper before they had re-secured her hands, in her back this time.  
  
"Troublesome, aren't we?" he asked her as if in contempt.  
  
"I'll never let you win," his girlfriend spat vehemently even as she tried to   
hit him with her left foot.  
  
"Take her to my shuttle," he instructed his troops. "I'll deal with that one   
myself."  
  
While everybody else thought that the young woman would be in for a rough time   
before being killed, both lovers knew that no one would ever suspect her true   
identity.  
  
However, the play wasn't over yet.  
  
  
  
  
Mara struggled against Luke's troopers for as long as they hadn't reached his   
quarters, then, once did the same against Luke when he took her from his guards.  
  
The moment that the doors were closed and sealed though, she turned her head to   
exchange a wry grin with him; he pulled her closer to himself and captured her   
lips in one of the most furious kisses that they had ever exchanged.   
  
Feeling as happy to be with him as he did, she returned his kiss with all her   
passion while he took care of her cuffs, then he pulled her as close as he could   
to himself.  
  
Freed of her restraints, she too wrapped her arms around him. Meanwhile, Luke   
began an exploration of his own, drawing shivers from her when his hands slipped   
under her dirty rebel shirt.  
  
*I think that we should move this to another room,* he finally sent her even as   
he deepened their kiss.  
  
*Lead the way, my Lord,* she whispered lustfully in answer.  
  
Slowly, they made their way toward the back of the reception room, then into   
their bedroom.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, Vader surveyed the lift-off of the transport which was now filled   
with his partially brainwashed prisoners.  
  
As he watched the medium-sized transport shift on its axis to prepare for its   
jump into hyperspace, he reflected on the past hours.  
  
While he had estimated that his new strategy would save pain to both his   
prisoners 'and' their families, he had to accept that it was, in fact, no less   
cruel than to simply kill them.  
  
The ex-rebel sympathizers might still be alive, he conceded sadly, but they   
would never be truly alive now that their dreams and hopes had been crushed...  
  
He had had no choice but to destroy those, he reminded himself, but he couldn't   
justify it anymore. He knew exactly what he had done; no more lies were   
clouding his vision.  
  
He had transformed his victims into perfect, will-less citizens. Of course, he   
had done this for their children and lovers, but first and foremost, he had done   
it for the monster who was his slaver. Once again, he admitted sadly, he had   
contributed to enslave other beings instead of freeing them as he had meant to   
do. Even worse, he reflected in growing resignation, there was no way out for   
either himself or them.  
  
In space, the transport finally jumped into hyperspace; Vader turned away from   
the observation bay and returned to his quarters.  
  
If his silence and absence of orders surprised his crew, they knew better than   
to question it.  
  
  
  
  
In his quarters, he went straight for his barely used living room, then slumped   
in dejection in an armchair.  
  
Never in his life had he felt so lost, let alone desperate or beaten. Now he   
knew the truth, had no choice but to accept it: he had forged his own chains and   
had willingly become the Emperor's slave. He had spent the whole previous night   
trying to refute his horrifying realization, but in the end, he had no choice   
but to see the truth for what it was.  
  
All the signs were there: obligation of obedience, formal address as Master,   
providing for him and his son instead of paying them, punishment if they failed   
him or displeased him... His old master, Watto, had been exactly like that,   
except that he hadn't hurt him 'too' much.  
  
And to think, he sighed in despair, that he had managed to win his freedom from   
that first slavery... only to fall head first into another, even worse   
servitude. Whereas Watto had required his service with mechanical matters, the   
Emperor had required of him to destroy the soul of the Galaxy, to make it bend   
to his dark will... and he had done so, unaware of what he had truly been   
doing... until too late. Of course, he admitted, the Emperor's trap had been   
neatly laid for him.   
  
First, he had fed his resent against the laws of the Jedi order until it had   
become anger, which had become hatred... then suffering, as Master Yoda had once   
warned him so wisely. Then, that suffering had become a lust for power to not   
suffer again, to not be hurt ever again in any way.  
  
Instead of serving him though, it had driven his one and only love away from   
him, hurting him even worse than any punishment that he had ever suffered.  
By then, he now realized, he had already been deep into the Dark Side. The loss   
of his physical freedom, after his accident, had been the last shove that he   
'needed' to be completely ensnared into the Emperor's unyielding grip.  
  
While he had always considered that he 'owed' him his life... he was now aware   
that the other was, in fact, the reason, the cause behind everything that had   
happened to him.  
  
Well, almost everything, he conceded with reluctant wisdom.  
  
He too was at fault, and he knew it now. His daughter... had truly opened his   
eyes, tearing away the veil of lies which had been covering his vision for the   
last eighteen years.   
  
His daughter, he thought, a dim hope appearing in his heart at the thought of   
her beloved memory. She, even more than Luke, had taught him how to love again,   
to go beyond mere care.  
  
Of course, he conceded, without Luke's first, unconscious breach in his cold   
heart, which had forced him to nurture deep compassion and care to be the good   
father he wanted to be to his son, he suspected that his contacts with Leia   
wouldn't have had the same results, but she had found the opening of his heart   
and soul, and... combined with her striking resemblance with her mother... She   
had brought Anakin back, he finally admitted with little more than a wince of   
worry. It was awful though that he had needed her death, at his hands he might   
add, to become aware of what kind of monster he had become, a monster that he   
didn't want to be anymore.  
  
Unfortunately, he sighed, he had to keep up appearances and serve the Emperor as   
if he hadn't changed, but it was hard, he thought in regret. He truly didn't   
want to hurt anybody else anymore.  
  
So how, he asked himself wearily, was he going to survive this change of heart?  
  
He pondered the question long into the night, then some more.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Aboard the Annihilator, Luke watched his girlfriend as she laid asleep in his   
arms.  
  
How he had missed her, he admitted to himself. His love for her was still   
mostly unexplainable to him, but it was there, and he knew it for what it was.  
It was like it had been for Leia: a need to share the rest of his life with the   
young woman, but in a more intimate way than with his sister of course.  
  
His sister... He had avenged her now; the rebels were no more, and soon, even   
their sympathizers would be history.  
  
However, while he had expected to be content and happy that the Empire was   
victorious, he instead felt nothing but a dull, gnawing sorrow in his heart.  
  
He had avenged Leia, but it wouldn't bring her back to him, he finally conceded   
even as he tried to restrain his tears of sadness.  
  
Aware that he suddenly needed a quiet corner to weep and mourn his lost sister,   
he gently kissed Mara's brow, then put on his bathrobe and left their silent   
room.  
  
He found refuge in his living room; he sat down in his couch, absently watching   
the quietly shining stars in the distance.  
  
Ever since Leia had died, he had been driven to make that horrible day   
worthwhile; he had stubbornly refused to mourn her, but now that it was mostly   
over... He became aware that he couldn't keep this in himself anymore; he had   
to cry for his lost sister, for their lost relationship.  
  
So he cried, and the more he cried, the more his anger dissolved, then his   
hatred, leaving behind a slight resent at Solo... and the Emperor, but mostly an   
emptiness that would never be filled ever again.  
  
"I miss you, Sister," he finally whispered sorrowfully.  
  
"And I miss you too, brother," Leia's voice answered him in the silence.  
  
Luke instinctively jumped to his feet at that, searched for someone hidden in   
his quarters, then whirled around when he failed to see anyone---  
  
And stopped short on the sight of his sister's spirit who was standing right   
beside where he had been sitting a moment ago.  
  
For a long moment, he gaped at her while she simply smiled fondly at him.   
  
She couldn't be here, he tried to reason with his muddled brain; she was dead.  
  
"But kept alive by your Light," she answered him gently.  
  
"My Light?" he frowned. "I am not a Jedi, Leia," he reminded her defiantly   
while he remembered all the times that the Emperor had warned him about his   
tendency to care...  
  
No, he shivered in reaction to his bad memories, he wasn't a Jedi.  
  
"Yet you love and care like one, Luke," she answered as if reading his mind.   
"Otherwise, you wouldn't have made a sacrifice for me," she reminded him.  
  
Luke was shocked speechless; she knew about that???   
  
"It was different," he finally tried to defend himself. "you were family."  
  
"But the children of Carlama weren't family, dear brother, yet you also cared   
about them," she pointed out.  
  
He couldn't argue against that either, and it hurt. It went completely against   
everything that he had been taught and drilled to think and feel.  
  
He had learnt his lessons, hadn't he?..  
  
"Why are you tormenting me like this?" he finally asked her, locking his eyes on   
her ethereal ones.  
  
"To free you, Luke," she smiled gently at him.  
  
"Free me?" he raised an eyebrow in confusion. "From what?"  
  
Leia took a step around the couch; Luke reflexively stepped away from his   
sister's ghost, as if aware that what she would say next would hurt with the   
truth.  
  
"From your slavery to the Dark Side and it's servant, the Emperor," she answered   
seriously.  
  
For a brief moment, a stray memory of himself reflecting that Lord Vader, his   
former master, had been a slave too came back to him, but he slammed it back   
into its mental room, refusing himself the right to consider the truth of his   
reasoning, like his father had forced him to do way back when.  
  
Leia was wrong, he argued with himself, he loved to serve the Emperor. He had   
always wanted to become worthy of his service, hadn't he?..  
  
"You lie," he glared at her, crossing his arms in front of his chest in   
defiance.  
  
"The Emperor lies," she corrected him, taking another step closer to him. "He   
lied to Father to ensnare him, and he lied to you, disguising your slavery into   
punishments if you didn't 'succeed' your tests."  
  
Images of those punishment, of his hard training suddenly came back to him, but   
unlike the other times, he didn't see himself as being toughened, but as a slave   
being punished... like when his father had punished him at first.  
  
"No!" he defied again, uncrossing his arms in shock even as his despair made him   
take another step backward. "No, it isn't true. I wouldn't be here if it   
were," he tried to justify his reality.  
  
"You weren't either until he was sure that he could trust you to obey his every   
wish, even from a distance..."  
  
"Shut up!" he reflexively snapped, then turned away from her image.   
  
Leia was still standing in front of him; he held still in shock.  
  
"Luke," she told him gently, resting her hands on his shoulders, "I'm sorry to   
hurt you like this, but I want to help you."  
  
"Help me for what? I'm happy here," he defied her.  
  
"Even when you hurt children? Or innocents? Or even your enemies?" she asked   
her wisely.  
  
Luke remained mute once again.  
  
"You are one of the greatest men in this galaxy, dear brother," she told him   
gently. "but you are stuck in a situation that requires you to accomplish nasty   
things, and unlike a regular job... you can't walk away from it when it doesn't   
fit with your values anymore."  
  
While his sister spoke, images of the past kept running into Luke's mind, images   
that he had tried to forget to avoid being hurt again by them. He had 'learned'   
to accept, then to love to serve the Emperor, but deep down, he now realized, he   
had never really liked it. Even worse, his father had never hurt him again once   
he had decided to free him, but the Emperor...  
  
Even now, he was worried that he might get hurt again if he ever found out what   
was going on through his mind at the moment... like when he had been his   
father's slave... No..., it couldn't be, yet it was.  
  
He still wasn't free, and couldn't escape from his newly revealed slaver; he   
could only serve him like he had always done.  
  
Slowly, glumly, he refocused on his sister's radiant, compassionate features,   
moved to caress her cheek but passed through her image...  
  
"I... I can't change anything, Leia," he finally told her mournfully,   
restraining tears of defeat.  
  
"But your Light can," she smiled softly at him, then leaned closer to kiss his   
brow---then she was gone.   
  
Luke stood still in front of his window, then closed his eyes and let out tears   
of regret...  
  
His sister was right... but what could he do?..   
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Right behind Luke, but hidden in the Force Realm, Leia and her mother quietly   
watched their relative's inner debate and hoped that they had gotten through to   
him.  
  
Unlike her daughter, Padme couldn't contact her dear husband nor son to help   
them, but she had always remained attached to Anakin after her death... as if   
she had unfinished business.  
  
And indeed, she did.  
  
Hence, she had watched him for years now, trying to come up with a way to make   
him see the truth of his path, yet she had always been unable to contact him.  
  
Then, her daughter, for whom she had feared much, had joined her in the fourth   
Realm and her plans had become a real possibility.  
  
Leia had also chosen to remain attached to her father and brother in hopes to   
save them, and unlike Amidala, she had the ability to appear to them and speak   
with them.  
  
Hence, they had watched over their family members, had studied their souls very   
carefully, then, when their Light had recovered from Leia's death, they had   
decided that it was time to break through their first link to their slaver:   
their blind devotion.  
  
"I fear that it won't be enough, Mother," Leia finally told her in the silence.  
  
"But it is a beginning," she replied softly even as she heard her dear son's   
inner debate.  
  
Like his father, Luke had pierced the veil of lies, but he couldn't extricate   
himself from it.  
  
She knew that they would need to work together to succeed.  
  
"I hope so much that they will recover their freedom," her daughter sighed.   
"They are too good men to serve the Dark Side."  
  
"Yes, they are," Ami nodded knowingly, "and that is why they 'will' break free,   
in due time."  
  
Leia remained silent at that, gazing around herself at the Light that was   
surrounding them both yet allowed them to watch over their loved ones.  
  
"Is something wrong?" she inquired with her daughter.  
  
"I don't think so," she answered. "but..."  
  
As if in answer to her question, a Jedi of the old Republic stepped up to them,   
suddenly materializing out of nowhere.  
  
At first, Amidala didn't recognize him, then she saw past his age---  
  
"Obi-Wan?" she asked.   
  
"Yes," he nodded serenely, then locked his gaze on the younger woman. "My time   
in transition is short," he informed Leia. "I have been sent back by the Force   
to give you the knowledge that you will need to help your father and brother."  
  
  
  
  
Aware that she was dealing with an aspect of the Force that she had never heard   
about before, Leia hesitantly nodded.  
  
Obi-Wan Kenobi extended his hand toward her.  
  
"Take my hand, then close your eyes, young Leia."  
  
Hesitantly, she obeyed... and found herself on the receiving end of abilities,   
wisdom and knowledge that she had never suspected even existed.  
  
*With this,* Kenobi told her through the Force, *you will be able to free your   
family, then guide them for the time being on their new, unknown path. When   
they won't need you anymore, you will be able to cross the Light to rest in   
peace.*  
  
*And Mother?* she asked worriedly.   
  
Her mother wasn't a Jedi, she didn't have any abilities to continue on her path   
toward the after-life.  
  
*Your mother will come with you so that one day, your family will once again be   
reunited.*  
  
Leia opened her eyes in surprise at this... and barely caught the edge of a   
smile on the Jedi's face before he disappeared in a halo of light.  
  
"You can count on me," she whispered softly to the Force. "I will save my   
family."  
  
"What happened?" his mother asked in slight worry.  
  
Leia gazed at her with a new, spiritual strength in her eyes.  
  
"I know how to free them," she answered, then settled to wait for the right   
moment to use her new knowledge.  
  
Beside her, her mother gazed some more at her distraught son, then focused her   
attention on her equally uneasy husband.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Aboard the Annihilator, Mara Jade awoke to the feeling that something was wrong.  
  
She rolled around, expected to find the presence of her sorely-missed lover, but   
found nothing but warm blankets.  
  
She opened her eyes in worry, then sat up and scanned her surroundings.  
He wasn't anywhere nearby.  
  
Reflexively, she reached out to check on him--- and was startled to find him in   
the room next door.  
  
She instantly became aware that he was crying.  
  
She hurried to get out of bed, then hastily threw on a robe before she went in   
search of him.  
  
She found him alone in the living room, leaning forehead-first against the cool   
plexiglass, his broad shoulders heaving with each wept.  
  
Silently, she stepped closer to him until she could touch his shoulder with her   
hand.  
  
He jumped at her touch, whirled around, then relaxed when he recognized her.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked him gently.  
  
"Too much," he half-whispered, then pulled her against himself until he could   
bury his face in her loose hair. "I love you so much, Mara... I don't want to   
lose you too," he told her, confusing her with his worries.  
  
"Hey, I'm here," she reassured him while she tried to understand what was going   
on with him, yet didn't invade his thoughts.  
  
She didn't want to force him to talk about his problems.  
  
"I'm not going anywhere any time soon," she reminded him when he tightened his   
hold on her yet remained silent.  
  
  
  
  
Even though Mara held him warmly, Luke knew that she didn't have a single clue   
as to what he was talking about... but 'he' knew.  
  
After Leia's apparition, he had dared face the truth of her words, had even gone   
as far as to try to meditate what would happen if he trusted her---  
  
And he had realized that the cost of his freedom would be Mara...  
  
He would lose her just like he had lost his sister.  
  
He couldn't lose Mara, he told himself yet again; he would do anything to be   
with her... he would even serve an evil tyrant. He wouldn't be happy about it,   
but he would be with his lover, his soul-mate. Nothing else mattered, he tried   
to reason himself, yet couldn't help but cry on in sorrow and despair.  
  
Deep down, he knew that if he continued to be a Dark Lord of the Sith... he   
would be the own assassin of his true-self... turning his knife on himself   
forever.  
  
He knew that he would have to make a painful choice that would rip his soul   
apart with either of his decisions.  
  
He continued to cry on Mara's shoulder for a long, long while, abandoning all   
pretense of strength or lack of emotion.  
  
  
  
  
TBC in part 3: Dilemmas  
  
SJ: Skyjade@globetrotter.net (any positive stuff is welcome, but negative or   
mean comments will be thrown down the Sarlacc's throat without being read.) 


	28. Redemption 3: Dilemmas

Redemption  
Part 3: Dilemmas  
By SJ 12-23-01/05-02 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. (Eh, I have no choice but to   
mention you, my friend ; your secret is still safe though ;) Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
As 'her' shuttle ceremoniously docked in the main hangar of the Annihilator,   
Mara continued to reflect on the events of two nights ago.  
  
She still couldn't understand what had made her dear boyfriend cry for so long;   
even during the twilight of Leia's death, he hadn't had nearly that much tears   
to shed, and Force knew that the loss of his sister had been a major blow to   
him.  
  
So what could it be, she wondered worriedly.   
  
Had something happened between himself and his father?.. Or the Emperor?..   
  
Unless, she thought seriously, he was finally allowing himself to grieve Leia.  
  
Yes, she nodded to herself, it was probably what had happened.   
  
Ever since that faithful day, Luke had devoted every minute of his life to his   
revenge against the Rebels, never giving himself the time to come to grip with   
the fact that his sister was gone forever.  
  
Thanks to her basic training in psychological matters, she knew, just like her   
lover should, that this kind of attitude wasn't healthy for him. But now, she   
sighed in relief, he was dealing with his loss, in an un-dark-lord fashion, she   
conceded, but his own fashion nonetheless. She could only offer him her   
presence and understanding until he recovered.  
  
The shuttle finally set down on the metallic deck; she gathered her gown and   
richly-made shawl, then regally stood to her feet.  
  
Her Lord was waiting for her.  
  
  
  
  
While Luke awaited for Mara's 'arrival', he slightly smirked to himself in   
satisfaction. For two trained agents such as they were, it hadn't been   
difficult at all to whisk Mara away from his quarters then into a ship before   
she had arranged for her return to him... in her guise of Lady Vader.  
  
With her hair pulled up in an artful arrangement of gems and ribbons and her   
glamorous gowns, they both knew that no one would recognize her as the furious,   
disheveled rebel scum whom he had 'finished' in his quarters two days ago.  
  
The shuttle finally settled down, then its ramp slowly lowered.  
  
Unlike when his father or the Emperor came aboard, only two squads of troopers   
as well as the highest ranking officers were gathered to welcome her aboard.  
  
And unlike the two afore-mentioned men, Luke thought to himself as he gazed   
lustfully at his lover, she could use the landing plank as more than a plank;   
she managed to make all her curves reveal themselves on the way down to the   
deck.  
  
Luke, the ever-gallant gentleman with his lady, offered her his hand; she   
accepted it. He kissed her knuckles.  
  
"I am delighted to be with you again, my Lord," she smiled softly, then bowed   
deferentially.  
  
Luke hid his smirk at that. To anyone who watched them closely, Mara appeared   
to be submitted to him.  
  
*Only in public, Farmboy,* she sent him coolly.  
  
"And it's a pleasure to have you once again at my side, my Lady," he returned   
coolly.  
  
Mara beautifully welcomed his comment with another bow, then turned her   
attention toward the nearby officers who bid her welcome.  
  
After the proper pleasantries were exchanged, Luke offered his bent arm to his   
lover, then they walked away from the disassembling group.  
  
*That went even better than I estimated,* he finally sent her once they were   
walking down the corridors.  
  
*It had better work,* she sent him back mock-seriously. *I spent enough time on   
that hairdo to make me more than unhappy if someone figures out my secret.*  
Luke gazed sideways at her at that, taking in the detail of her hair.  
  
*You sure outdid yourself this time, Jade,* he commented, then hurried to add:   
*it's amazingly beautiful.*  
  
Mara's glare cooled down at his compliment, then she merely nodded in thanks.   
  
*It's almost a shame that it won't last,* he added lustfully.  
  
*And why is that?* she asked him, warning under-lacing her thoughts once again.  
While surprised by her tone of voice, Luke ignored it, estimating that it was   
yet another one of her jokes.   
  
*Do you really think that it will survive once we're out of sight?* he asked her   
while sending her an image of what he had in mind.  
  
This time, she openly glared at him.  
  
*If you think that I'll spend another two hours redoing this hair just for the   
evening meal, think again, Farmboy,* she growled menacingly, using his hated   
moniker from when he had been a rebel.  
  
It was a bad sign; she was dead serious about this. He decided not to press   
the point and instead adapted his plans so that they matched with hers.  
  
*Well,* he conceded, *we can always adjust of course. However,* he added with   
all his love, *I still prefer your hair when they are down,* he admitted.  
  
They reached their quarters, stepped inside and the doors closed--- then it was   
Mara's turn to pull him into a ravenous kiss even as she attacked his clothes   
with her hands.  
  
*Remember,* she sent to him when he began to move her hands away from her hips,   
*no playing in my hair,* she smiled lovingly at him.  
  
"No problem," he answered in a breath. "I know a few other places where I can   
play safely."  
  
They then resumed their wild kissing.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Nearly three hours later, Luke left his quarters to accomplish his very   
important duty of the day: brainwash his rebel prisoners.  
  
Ever since he had woken up the previous day, he had been procrastinating it, but   
now, he couldn't do so anymore. They were mere hours away from returning them   
to their families. He had no choice but to proceed with his plan. However,   
unlike when he had decided with his father to use this tactic to save more   
sorrow for the parent-bereft children, he never expected to be as uneasy as he   
felt with the procedure.  
  
What didn't help, he reflected seriously as he made his way toward the detention   
area, was that he 'knew' what a mindwipe did to someone. He had used this   
tactic countless times when he had been an agent; he knew the torture that it   
caused to one's mind... and right now, he admitted to himself, he didn't want to   
cause such pain to anyone.  
  
On the other hand, if he didn't do it, he would either have to kill them, which   
was worse, or he would have to release them as they were, which was   
inconceivable given his service to the Emperor.  
  
He didn't want to lose his favor, he told himself as he brought to mind his most   
recent memories of his time with his beloved Mara. He would do anything to be   
with her. He 'would' kill those rebels' minds, he decided, still ambivalent,   
then steeled himself for the unpleasant experience.   
  
He finally reached his destination and stepped inside the main hallway of the   
detention area. Unlike all the other times that he had stood in such a place,   
his senses were instantly assaulted by all the suffering and despair that was   
permeating the place; he hurried to block out his sixth sense while retaining   
his cold composure.  
  
"My Lord," the officer in charge bowed to him.  
"I need the list of the cells of the rebel sympathizers who were arrested on   
Carlama," he answered without preamble, then crossed his arms in impatience.  
  
It also helped him to resist the emotional onslaught that was still trying to   
assail him unlike anything before.  
  
A card was finally produced by the data bank; a trooper charged it in a reader,   
then headed toward the cells.  
  
Luke silently followed him... toward his first victim.  
  
  
  
  
As he finished with his last prisoner, he promised himself to never rely on this   
strategy ever again.   
  
And with that though, he knew...  
  
He wasn't a dark lord anymore, he reluctantly admitted to himself, then stilled   
in fear. He was in danger if he didn't regain his former attitude and devotion   
to his goals, he thought seriously, desperately.  
  
On the conscious plane, he exited the last cell he had to visit.  
  
"Gather them in the main hangar bay," he snapped to the nearby trooper, more   
irritated at himself than at his troops. "A transport is organized for them."  
  
"Yes, my Lord," the man bowed, then used his comlink to require help for the   
next phase of the operation.  
  
Meanwhile, Luke stormed toward the bridge, the only place where he would find   
something to do to keep himself from being filled with doubts and confusion   
which only grew in strength with his self-questioning.  
  
Overseeing the ships' locations and reports would keep his head clear, he   
reflected.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Hours later, aboard the Executor, Vader, who had also found refuge on the bridge   
of his ship to forget his inner dilemma, finally returned to his quarters,   
admitting defeat.  
  
When his daughter had appeared to him, she had known what she had been doing, he   
admitted with a touch of resent. She had known that she would throw him off the   
carefully-maintained balance of coolness and self-control which had kept him   
from feeling too much ever since... the change. She had known, he thought   
glumly, that he would fall back into the Light, the care and love that were the   
enemies of his actual life. Even worse, he now understood with a great deal of   
unease, she had known... that he wouldn't recover from her intervention... That   
Anakin would return after so many years of imprisonment---  
  
No!, he suddenly objected with all his spiritual strength. He would not allow   
this to happen. He might become less and less interested to serve the Emperor,   
and he might also grow more and more caring about the fates of even his   
'innocent' enemies, but he couldn't, 'wouldn't' repeat the mistakes of the past.   
  
Anakin Skywalker had been a weak-minded fool, a man without control, without   
wisdom... without power. Now, he had achieved all that, and it allowed him to   
be a good protector of the galaxy; so, for the galaxy, he wouldn't regress back   
into the puny Jedi that he had once been.  
  
Convinced that his decision was final this time, he headed for his office where   
reports were waiting for him.  
  
He would find a way to do his job while sticking to his 'new' values, he   
decided, but he would 'never', 'ever' turn back to the Light.  
  
He entered his lavishly yet conservatively furnished office,--- and missed the   
cleaning droid which was rolling near the corner of his desk.  
  
For one of the first time in nearly twenty years, Lord Vader tripped most   
ungracefully and unceremoniously crashed on the floor, his powerful shoulder   
ramming straight into the drawers of his desk.  
  
Shaken by his rough landing, he glared at the scurrying droid which swiftly   
disappeared inside its cubicle; once he was alone, he took a moment to shake his   
head clear.  
  
He then happened to notice what had stopped his fall.  
  
While he slowly stood back to his feet, he dimly reflected that he hadn't used   
those compartments of his desk for years now, except when...  
  
Suddenly remembering when was the last time that he had opened the last drawer,   
he tried to key it open, then, when it failed to open, knelt back beside it and   
used the Force to open it.  
  
The moment that the content of the drawer became visible, an image of a younger   
Darth Vader came back to his mind.  
  
Approximately two years after his accident, he had been more wiry and stronger   
than he now was, and on a 'that' faithful, horrible day, he had also been filled   
with a dark anger which had blotted out any other feeling that he might have   
felt...  
  
Except his love for his lost angel... Padme, who had just died back then.  
  
Even then, the mere thought of her name had been enough to drive a lit-  
lightsaber through his heart. They could have had so much, could have been so   
happy together, but no... The Jedis had had to intervene yet again in his life,   
keeping them apart even though they had joined their lives together... And then   
she had died, he remembered sadly.  
  
After witnessing her death, holding her as she had died in his arms thanks to   
injuries that he couldn't heal even with the Force, he had returned aboard his   
ship, swearing to the Force that he would avenge her death at the Jedis' hands.  
Then, almost ceremoniously, he had taken a last look at the Jappor Snipper that   
he had once carved for her as a reminder of their care for one another... and   
had laid it in the last drawer of his desk before closing it up and locking it   
forever.  
  
The pendant was still there today.  
  
Delicately, he took it out of its 'tomb', then laid it in his large, leather-  
covered hand. How different it was compared to his small hand when he had given   
it to her, he reflected sadly, and how different he himself was compared to the   
child that he had once been... Would she still love him, he found himself   
wondering as he stood to his feet, then sat in his plush chair; his gaze   
remained locked on the memento from the past.   
  
He would understand if she didn't, he admitted sadly. He had become a monster,   
a destroyer of life, and even if he would try to hurt less people from now on,   
the past would always remain; dark, blood-stained...  
  
Soulless.  
  
Except for his son, he shamefully admitted to himself that he wasn't proud of   
what he had done, of how he had behaved. He slowly turned the pendant around   
with his fingers--- and noticed the presence of small hinges on one side.   
  
Reflexively, he focused his attention on the other side of the pendant, noticed   
the seam, then tried to open it.   
  
Since his fingers were too big, he changed tactics and called on the Force...   
then stopped. Something was telling him to open it with his real hands, not his   
mental ones. Slowly, almost reluctantly, he laid the pendant on his desk, then   
pulled his gloves off of his hands... revealing his pale-skinned, real hands.  
  
The moment that he gazed at them, flashes of his old self, of when he had met   
again with Padme as a youth came back to him.  
  
He had loved, back then, had cared and had meant to right the wrongs of the   
universe... He had been a good man, despite his boldness... his recklessness   
which had cost him everyone and everything he cared for. Could he still be that   
good man, but more mature?, he wondered dimly as he resumed his attempt to open   
the pendant.  
  
Unlike his previous attempt, this one worked almost instantly, giving him access   
to the small storage carving that had been added into the pendant. A microchip   
was safely ensconced in the porous material. Carefully yet eagerly, Vader   
pulled the customized disk out of its slit, then loaded it in a nearby reader.  
  
He didn't know what to expect, but he certainly didn't expect an holo of Padme,   
his angel...  
  
He caught his breath in shock.  
  
"Anakin," she began gently yet sadly, "my love, if you see this, then it means   
that I am no longer alive," she continued, bitter-sweet. "It also means," she   
went on, "that your goodness isn't completely gone from you for the Jedi lock of   
the pendant couldn't be open by a Dark Lord of the Sith."  
  
Anakin was shocked by her revelation; he hadn't even felt such a lock on the   
memento, but true, it had opened without much prying from his part.  
  
"You were once a great man, Ani," she continued, beseechingly this time, "a man   
filled with love, care, hope, morale and Light. I know that Palpatine hasn't   
driven you completely away, Anakin. Please, come back; you can do it. As you   
proved already with our wedding, your love is stronger than even the choices   
that you've made in life," she gently reminded him.  
  
Vader felt himself wilt in defeat as Anakin grew stronger and stronger in   
himself. Yes, he reminded himself, he still felt love, felt it for his   
children, for his lost wife... and now for Life itself, in all its forms.  
  
"Palpatine knows this, my love... That is why he sent assassins after me,   
because he knew that as long as I lived, he would never completely own you. But   
please," she hurried to add, as if knowing how angry this revelation would make   
him, "don't be angry. You will only allow him to win," she explained with her   
usual wisdom.  
  
And indeed, he admitted to himself, the old despot had won for years now... but   
no more.  
  
"Fight him with your love and care, Ani; it is the only way to vanquish him and   
make the wrongs right in the Galaxy. You are the greatest Jedi ever, my love.   
You can defeat him and he knows it."  
  
And that was why he kept him and his son on such short leashes, he realized.   
  
The Emperor was afraid of them.  
  
"Until we are reunited at last, Ani, I will be watching over you... and our   
children," she finished wistfully, locking her warm gaze on his... then she   
disappeared in static.  
  
Anakin sat still in his chair, shocked, confused, and awed by what he had just   
discovered and heard. Padme had known that he would someday return, and that   
when he would do so, he would be stronger than ever 'because' of his time in the   
service of the Dark Side. She had even felt confident enough in her knowledge   
of him that she had revealed the truth about their twins.  
  
And she had said that she would always be with him.  
  
Slowly, he gazed over his left shoulder, saw nothing but the cool lights of the   
stars that were shining through his huge viewport, but he knew.  
  
She was there, with their daughter.  
  
"I will defeat him the right way this time, my angels," he promised to both his   
daughter and wife. "I am back now, thanks to you two."  
  
  
  
In the realm of the Force, Leia and her mother exchanged a tear-filled gaze of   
happiness.  
  
One of them was saved now, at least as far as his soul went.  
  
"You might not be a Jedi, Mother," she told her wistfully, "but you certainly   
have their wisdom."  
  
Her mother remained silent but nodded in agreement as her gaze remained on her   
beloved husband.  
  
"If Father has returned," Leia commented, now hopeful, "then Luke will   
undoubtedly also return; he's spent less time than Father in the Dark Side."  
  
"He isn't saved yet though," Padme gently reminded her.  
  
"I know," the younger spirit nodded, "but we will win him back, I can feel it."  
  
"Then, it will only leave their physical safety from the Emperor's malevolence   
to insure," she reminded her seriously.  
  
Leia remained silent at that, aware that this would indeed be quite a tough   
challenge.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Parsecs away, aboard the Annihilator, Lord and Lady Vader had retired for the   
night, and Luke was undoing her intricate hairdo.   
  
As Mara sat quietly on an armless bench in front of him, she admitted that the   
feeling of her boyfriend's hands as they gently undid her hair was very sensual;   
he gently freed each curl from its ribbon and pin before slowly unraveling it to   
its full length. Then he delicately brushed any unpleasant locks from it before   
doing the same thing with her next curl.  
  
Aside from the hair massage she was undergoing though, there was something more   
important on her mind. It was one of the first time since her return that she   
could really talk with him. She gazed up at him, took a moment to appreciate   
the reflection of his bare torso in the mirror before she focused on his serious   
face.  
  
"What were you thinking about during diner?" she asked him gently.  
  
Since she was watching him very closely, she caught the hint of a wince before   
he managed to recover his cool composure.   
  
"Why do you say this?" he answered, flicking a gaze at her in her mirror before   
refocusing on her hair.  
  
"Remember that I almost know you as well as your father does, flyboy," she   
lightly scolded him. "I 'saw' your expression of disgust when General Veers   
gave details about the last attack on the Rebels."  
  
"Well, we were talking about rebels," he answered quickly while he laid yet   
another one of her pin on the vanity in front of her. "I still despise them."  
  
"But they were being dealt with in Veers' accounting, Luke," she reminded him,   
shifting her position on the bench until she was facing him. She gazed straight   
in his eyes, not sparing a moment to admire his half-chiseled stomach and chest   
although this was hard to accomplish.   
  
  
  
  
Luke knew that he wasn't fooling her; he met her gaze straight on to alleviate   
her worry. If he tried to hide from her, he knew that he wouldn't be able to   
hide his truly distraught state to her... and he would lose her forever.  
  
But what could he say to reassure her, he wondered nervously.   
  
"I know,..." he began hesitatingly, then trusted his instincts of comedian.   
"I... don't know exactly how to explain this to you, but the mere mention of   
them, alive or dead, or being hurt... sickens me to the heart. They took my   
sister from me," he finished with a resent that he was finding harder and harder   
to summon.  
  
For a moment, his lover gazed up at him, her jade eyes locked on his owns, then   
she pulled on his hand until he had knelt in front of her.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Luke," she said gently, bringing her hand up until she could   
caress his brow in compassion. "I understand."  
  
Luke closed his eyes, reveling, literally drowning in her wonderful touch.  
If only he could tell her everything, he thought while making sure that his   
barriers were firmly up around his inner self.  
  
"I wish that I could get over it now that they're dead, my love," he commented   
half-truthfully, half-falsely.  
  
"Perhaps I can help you... if you will let me," his girlfriend whispered   
lustfully, then gently kissed him fully on the lips.  
  
As always, their deeper link made all his clouds of doubt and confusion   
dissolve, allowing him to enjoy every second that he spent with his lover.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hours later, Luke was once again laying awake while his lover was deeply asleep,   
but unlike two days ago, he wasn't sad.  
  
Instead, he was confused, lost... He didn't know what to do.  
Ever since his sister's spirit had visited him, he had found himself 'surviving'   
in the Imperial world, being no longer interested to cause or see pain around   
himself, and tonight, it had gone as far as wanting to avenge the rebels who had   
been molested and crushed by the cruel General Veers.   
  
However, he had known that he couldn't act on that instinct; the sight of the   
new Dark Lord jumping down his General's throat because of an order that he had   
himself given would have looked strange enough to warrant an immediate report to   
the Emperor...  
  
And then...  
  
He would have lost Mara.  
  
He tightened his hold on her, delicately pressing her bare back against his   
chest as if to prevent anyone from ever taking her away from him.  
  
He knew however that it would happen, sooner or later.  
  
More and more, he was growing aware that he couldn't be a Dark Lord of the Sith   
anymore, nor an Imperial servant for that matter. It was quite an unwelcome   
surprise though; as far as he could remember since he had met his father, he had   
always wanted to become who he was today. He had even given his two-hundred   
percent to reach this point in his life... Only to discover that he had forged   
his own chains instead of spreading his wings as he had thought he would.  
  
Even worse, the said slavery was in fact going against all the values that he   
truly held dear in life, turning him into a destroyer of those very values.  
  
He knew that he couldn't continue like this for long, but how could he break   
free?, he wondered dimly.  
  
The Emperor was all powerful, knew everything and tolerated nothing; he was also   
the master of everyone whom he held dear in life. He couldn't risk their   
safety, he decided, especially not Mara's. He couldn't even talk with either   
her or his father; both wouldn't understand what was wrong with him all of a   
sudden.  
  
The only one with whom he could talk was...  
  
Slowly, careful to not wake up his companion, he stood up from bed, then put on   
a pair of sleeping pants before he exited the silent room.  
  
He retired in his office, then took a moment to focus his senses before he sent   
a call through the Force.  
  
He kept it on a close radius, aware that Mara would pick up on it if it went too   
far away from him.  
  
"Luke," his sister smiled gently, appearing less than ten centimeters away from   
him on his left.  
  
"Why are you doing this to me?" he instantly asked her, whirling toward her and   
showing her exactly what she was responsible for.  
  
"I'm sorry," she apologized warmly. "I know what Mara means to you; your love   
for her is such in fact that it saved you from the Dark Side."  
  
"Then why are you trying to separate us?" he asked her resentfully.  
  
"Because I love you too, brother. You are not meant to be a slave forever."  
  
"But to be alone, and unhappy," he cut her off, some of his anger resurfacing   
from under his confusion. "That is all right, isn't it?"  
  
"No, it isn't," his sister shook her head, "and it is not meant to happen   
either. It might be part of the steps necessary to fulfill your destiny, but it   
is not your destiny, Brother, believe me."  
  
"Ah, destiny," he sneered, suddenly feeling fed up with listening to her, thus   
being more and more confused about who he truly was. "Our destinies are what we   
make them; they are not pre-ordained," he objected seriously.  
  
"They are, Luke...," Leia explained gently, never raising her tone of voice,   
"and yours is to destroy the Emperor and free the galaxy."  
  
Before Luke could argue with her, she disappeared--- and a window into another   
place opened up where she had been standing; it shocked him still.  
  
In the 'window', he saw his Father bring a Jedi in chains to the Emperor; the   
closer that they stepped, the more that he could see the man's face--- until he   
realized that he was him.   
  
Shaken to his core, he watched, mute and bemused, as events unfolded in front of   
his eyes. 'He' first saw himself defy the Emperor, then he tried to kill the   
ruler and ended-up fighting against his father. To his relief, he didn't kill   
him, but his attempt to make him return to the Light completely befuddled him.   
In answer to those, his father tried to seduce him to his side. Why wasn't he   
already there, he wondered--- then, after another vicious duel between himself   
and his father, the Emperor tried to kill him for being a Jedi... until his   
father saved him by hurling the tyrant down a long reactor shaft.   
  
After that, his alter-ego helped his father back to his feet, then struggled to   
get him to a shuttle, to escape the Empire??, he frowned in confusion. What was   
going on in there?... Then even more confusing words were exchanged between   
himself and his father: he had already saved him?..  
  
From what?.. Why?..  
  
"What is this?" he finally half-whispered even as he witnessed the false death   
of his father. "This isn't true," he stated angrily.  
  
"This is what would have happened if Father hadn't found you as a child, Luke   
Skywalker," Leia explained, calling him by his true name for the first time   
since he had revealed his imperial links to her.  
  
It upset him.  
  
"My name is Vader," he reminded her with animosity as she re-materialized in   
front of him.  
  
"Your true self is Skywalker, as is Father's," she commented wistfully. "The   
Emperor convinced him to change his name because he knew that he would never   
keep a Skywalker chained and grounded for long. After all, as your name   
suggest, you are both born to be free."  
  
Luke remained silent at that, dimly remembering an event of his childhood: even   
when he had been a slave, space and flying had always seemed to call to him...   
as it had his father, he had later found out.  
  
Slowly, reluctantly, he put together a few more pieces of his puzzle. If his   
sister was right, he dimly reflected, then his name was indeed pre-destined to   
fit him... and he wasn't supposed to be with the Emperor, killing and crushing   
the galaxy for him, he shuddered in horror, then stopped at the thought of his   
lover---   
  
"What about Mara??" he asked her desperately. "I don't want to lose her nor   
hurt her."  
  
"You will not lose her, Luke," she gently reassured him, stepping even closer to   
him until she could rest her ethereal hand on his shoulder. "It will not be   
easy for you for a while, but you will not lose her."  
  
"Then how do we escape?" he asked her, eagerly yet reluctantly. "The Emperor   
won't let us go if we ask him."  
  
"I know, but I don't know how you will defeat him," his sister admitted   
seriously.  
  
Luke's mood saddened once again; what good was it to entertain hopes if they   
were impossible---  
  
"However," Leia continued, "I know that you won't do it alone. You cannot   
defeat the Emperor alone," she insisted, as if aware that he might attempt it on   
his own.  
  
"Who will help me?" he asked her out loud even as he nodded slightly in answer   
to her warning.   
  
Leia smiled gently at him this time.  
  
"Remember your destiny, brother of the Light," she advised him---   
  
Then she was gone once again, leaving him even more confused than before, he   
decided once he had recovered from the shock of what he had just discovered...   
and accepted, he reluctantly conceded.  
  
No matter how impossible it felt to him, how against his training his thoughts   
were, he now knew for certain where he stood in the Force... and it wasn't with   
his slaver.  
  
He truly couldn't serve him anymore, couldn't crush the galaxy in his name   
anymore... In short, he couldn't be Luke Vader anymore.   
  
After long years of forced-denial of his last name, he was finally reclaiming   
his true, complete name.  
  
He was Luke Skywalker again, and unlike when he had 'chosen' to deny it, he was   
not a defenseless child anymore. However, he conceded with a wince of deep   
worry, he was a wary adult and he knew exactly who and what he was faced with.  
  
He really didn't know how he would vanquish the dark monster who used to be his   
master and who now controlled everyone he loved.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
TBC in part 4: Decisions  
  
  
  
SJ: Skyjade@globetrotter.net (any positive stuff is welcome, but negative or   
mean comments will be thrown down the Sarlacc's throat without being read.) 


	29. Redemption 4: Decision

Redemption  
Part 4: Decisions  
By SJ 12-23-01/05-02 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories.) Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
Even though Anakin wasn't a Dark Lord anymore, he still had to accomplish his   
duties in order to pretend that Lord Vader was still alive and obedient.  
  
Hence, he oversaw all the operations aboard the intercepted ships, then   
pretended to capture and brainwash his prisoners. However, he merely blocked   
their rebel memories for a standard year.   
  
He estimated that by then, he would have settled his business with the Emperor   
and the rebels wouldn't be at risk anymore.  
  
At least, he hoped so.  
  
When he wasn't dealing with would-be Rebels, he kept an eye on the Fleet, trying   
to discourage them from causing 'too' much damage when not needed... and he also   
kept an eye on his son.  
  
  
  
He and Luke hadn't talked for almost a week now, he thought seriously. Ever   
since they had talked about using brainwashes to return parents to their   
children, and his first vision of his daughter, they had remained distant...   
almost cold. Since Luke was still under the yoke of the Emperor, he didn't know   
exactly how to approach him. Hence, he 'did' prefer to remain away from him for   
the time being.  
  
He couldn't talk about his new plans with him, nor could he tell him that he had   
seen Leia again, let alone that he had found a message from Padme.  
  
Luke wouldn't understand his change of heart, he thought sadly; on the opposite,   
his son might even unknowingly betray him to the Emperor.  
  
No, he thought with fresh resolve, he didn't want to involve his son in his plan   
just yet... He was still too devoted to the Emperor to trust him with his own   
secrets. However, he reflected seriously, he would free him too; in time, he   
would find a way to make him realize what he himself had realized, then he would   
help him break free of his chains.   
  
After all, he reminded himself, Luke was showing definite signs that despite his   
darkness, his Light was still trying to shine in his heart. He himself   
suspected that his love for his family and for Mara kept it alive and burning   
despite what the Emperor was making him do.  
  
However, he made a note to make 'sure' that his son would retain this feeling   
for the time being... until the time would be right to free him.  
  
As he watched his crew prepare for a jump into hyperspace, he dimly wished that   
Leia would also appear to Luke and help him. Then, they would be together   
again, and stronger than the Emperor.  
  
They would be able to free the galaxy from his slavery.  
  
Unfortunately, he had the strong feeling that Leia had had to choose a point of   
anchor with the world of the living, and that given the presence of her mother   
with him, she had chosen him.  
  
Oh well, he mentally shrugged, he would find a way to reach his son's good   
heart. More than even Mara Jade, he knew how to make it shine through the   
darkness of their lives and, as he had once said to his then young boy, he   
hadn't recovered and freed him only to enslave him to someone else.  
  
He resolved to be true to his past words.  
  
Around him, his ship lowly groaned as it prepared for its jump, then the stars   
blurred into lines before being followed by the shifting pattern of hyperspace.  
  
  
  
******   
  
  
  
  
Not too far from there now, Luke equally stood on the bridge of his ship, he too   
trying to maintain the illusion that nothing had changed.  
  
Since Mara was still with him, he was doubly careful to not let any thought seep   
through their link; he forced himself to focus on the present moment, to keep   
his mind empty.  
  
Unbeknown to her however, he had modified his tactic with the rebel   
sympathizers. Instead of erasing their memories, he merely pushed them back   
into their subconscious for the time being, aware that they would return, in a   
few months. By then, he hoped that their return would be perfect for his own   
plans against the Emperor.  
  
He still hadn't figured out how he could even proceed with it, and the constant   
presence of his beloved Mara was only reminding him that he would lose her the   
moment that he would reveal his true self, but just as his sister believed in   
his enduring Light, he now believed in his and Mara's enduring love.  
  
They would weather the coming storm, he promised himself, slightly stepping   
closer to her lithe, richly draped silhouette.  
  
Sensing his closer presence, she tilted her head toward him and flashed him a   
soft smile.  
  
*What says we find a quiet corner once the troops return from their drop-off?*   
she inquired lustfully.  
  
*Haven't you had enough?* he teased her in kind.  
  
*Of you?* she raised her left eyebrow questioningly, then smiled lovingly.   
*Never in a hundred years.*  
  
He returned her smile by leaning closer to her head as if they were sharing a   
private moment.  
  
*Considering my own feelings for you, my love,* he sent warmly, *I'd say it's a   
miracle that we managed to fulfill missions while being separated for weeks on   
end.*  
  
*You have no idea,* she agreed with him even as she bowed her head shyly, as if   
he had complimented her.  
  
Before Luke could answer her though, Admiral Piett snapped to attention behind   
them, far enough to give them their privacy, but close enough to disturb them.  
Luke straightened and gave his best 'cold' glance at the man.  
  
"Pardon me for the intrusion, my Lord," the other man bowed, then straightened.   
"Lord Vader is waiting for you in the reception field."  
  
Aware that he hadn't talked with his father for almost a week, Luke instantly   
understood that it meant that something serious had happened.  
  
"I'll take him in the private communication room," he answered, forcing himself   
to recover his cool composure.  
  
"I will stay here, my Lord," Mara informed him, assuming once again her role of   
obedient, submissive courtesan/consort.  
  
On impulse, Luke gently took hold of her closest hand and smooched her knuckles.   
  
"We will continue this later on, Lady Jade."  
  
He then turned away and headed for the nearby isolation room.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
The moment that his son stepped within receiving range, Vader knew that he had   
interrupted something with Mara Jade.  
  
His son's complexion was slightly flushed, but only he who knew him very well   
would see it.  
  
"I trust that everything is all right, Father," he began seriously.  
  
Anakin shook his head in answer.  
  
Things were far from being all right, he reflected glumly. His life was no   
longer what it used to be, he couldn't talk about this to anyone, not even his   
own son, and the galaxy was still suffering under the yoke of the Emperor.  
  
"We have just recovered a very peculiar escape ship," he informed him shortly.   
"I think that you should take a look at it."  
  
His son remained silent for a few seconds, pondering his request versus his   
duties.  
  
Anakin mentally crossed his fingers that he would come aboard; the sight of the   
children refugees might just be what he needed to be able to rescue his son from   
his spiritual prison. He knew that Luke cared a lot about children, no matter   
their planet of origin in the galaxy. It was, he suspected, a remnant of his   
experience of slavery, one which had been worse than even his own had been.  
  
Thanks to him...  
  
"I will leave immediately, Father," his son finally answered him. "We're still   
a few hours away from you though, even in hyperspace."   
  
"I will wait for your arrival before doing anything, Son," he commented   
seriously. "I have already left orders to re-seal the ship and leave it   
undisturbed until further orders."  
  
A slight frown creased his son's features at that; Anakin understood that he was   
beginning to wonder what this was all about. Soon, he thought earnestly, Luke   
would have his answers. Perhaps then, he himself would be able to talk about   
his secret with him.  
  
Luke bid him farewell, then cut the transmission; Anakin also cut it, then   
returned on the bridge of his flagship.  
  
Something was going to happen soon; he could feel it.  
  
He could only hope that it wouldn't be a bad surprise, he thought to himself.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
After leaving Mara in their quarters, Luke boarded his shuttle and ordered his   
pilots to take him to his father's flagship.  
  
Once they made the transition into hyperspace, he retired to his small   
quarters... then flopped on his bed and brought his hands behind his head.  
  
It was all so complicated, he thought tiredly.   
  
Not only did he have to hide his true self from his family and master, but he   
also had to 'think' of a way to put an end to it while not hurting them.  
  
And as if it wasn't enough, he kept reliving his rebel mission in his dreams,   
except that in them, he was a true Freedom fighter... and the events went beyond   
what he had experienced with the rebels. They also always finished with the   
vision which his sister had shown to him.  
  
Every night, he had to struggle to hide his nightmares from Mara. If she ever   
saw them, or even became aware that he was having them, she would know that   
something was wrong with him and would 'research' until she found the origin of   
the problem.  
  
He couldn't take that risk, he thought seriously.  
  
However, he admitted wearily, he hated himself for keeping secrets from her. He   
loved her more than anything else in the universe, couldn't imagine not having   
her in his life; she was his second half, his best and only friend, the only   
person who could truly understand him, and vice-versa.  
  
Lately though, he had had no choice but to dampen their link while not cutting   
it off so as to not rouse her suspicions. He didn't know if she was aware of   
it, but he himself was and it added to his actual misery.  
  
Then, as if Mara wasn't enough, he also had to cut himself off from his father.   
  
His father had been devotedly serving the Emperor for almost twenty years now;   
he had no doubts that his father would blindly obey their master and punish him   
if he ever discovered the truth of his heart. On the other hand, he reflected   
with slight hope, his father did care about the fate of the galaxy, and about   
him. He too had also felt reluctant to orphan children with their latest   
operations.  
  
Perhaps there was hope that he could break through to him, he thought carefully,   
but since he himself had also served the darkness for a while now, he didn't   
allow himself to entertain false hopes. He knew that his father might equally   
be lost to him. He closed his eyes on that thought, the vision of himself   
fighting against his father coming back to his mind.  
  
'Remember your destiny,' Leia had told him.  
  
Was fighting against his father is destiny? Would he have to kill him?..  
He wouldn't be able to do that, he thought sadly. Even if his father was   
steeped in the Dark Side, he wasn't only a monster. He remembered more than a   
few times when his father had genuinely loved him, cared for him, even protected   
him...   
  
He was a good man.  
  
Things would be much easier for the both of them if he too could return to the   
Light, he sighed tiredly.   
  
Closing his eyes once again, he forced himself to empty his mind, to relax, if   
only for a short while. In a few hours, he would have to resume his act of Dark   
Lord while keeping his thoughts in tight check, and unlike when he had been a   
'rebel', he wasn't driven by the Dark Side anymore. He had lost his edge to   
keep this going forever, but he couldn't put an end to it just yet, he reminded   
himself. Not yet, he told himself firmly, then truly set about entering a   
rejuvenation trance.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Back aboard the Annihilator, Mara had retired to hers and Luke's quarters, then   
shed her robes and put on a skin-tight catsuit before beginning a training   
session.  
  
As she dodged the combat droid's arm, then shot at the aiming remote, she tried   
yet again to forget her worry about her lover. However, even demanding   
exercising didn't help her to empty her mind.  
  
Ever since the night when she had comforted him till early morning, something   
had been different with him. He wasn't as close to her as he used to be,   
perhaps not on the physical side since they were taking advantage of every spare   
moment that they had to enjoy each other's company, but as far as their mental   
bond went, something had changed. She couldn't read him as instantly as before,   
and when she finally got something from him, she couldn't help but feel that he   
was keeping things from her.  
  
While they both respected each other's privacy of thoughts, he and her had   
rarely, if ever, kept secrets from one another. Even when she had been jealous   
of his Princess' book, he had allowed her to see for herself what were his true   
feelings for the perfect stranger. So now that he was mourning his sister, she   
wondered even as she barely avoided a powerful punch from the droid, why did he   
feel like he had to keep things hidden from her.  
  
Barely avoiding yet another lethal attack, she admitted defeat in her attempt to   
change her mind; she reached out and turned off her training tools, then called   
a towel to her hand.  
  
While she wiped her face and neck, she turned toward the bay window which was   
open into space and locked her gaze on a distant star that might be where her   
boyfriend was at the moment.  
  
'Luke,' she thought to herself, 'whatever it is, I promise that I would   
understand if you told me.'  
  
She didn't try to reach him though, aware that disturbing his meeting with his   
father wouldn't be very appreciated by either men. When he'd come back however,   
she promised herself to corner him and make him talk about what had taken away   
his fire... his love.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
On Coruscant, the Emperor read his latest reports concerning his fleet and its   
commanders.  
  
They had changed tactics twice within a single week?, he frowned slightly as he   
read about how their orders had gone from killing to taking prisoners and   
brainwash, to not even taking prisoners but brainwashing all the same.  
  
The old ruler gazed up from his pad and locked his all-seeing glare on the vista   
of Imperial City. Something was going on with his servants, he surmised. While   
he was used to seeing them adapt their strategies to new variables, it was the   
first time that their new strategy was sparing their targets.  
  
They hadn't merely delayed their attack this time; they had completed it... and   
released those rebellious scums. What did it mean? he wondered warily. Why did   
they go to such lengths to keep those 'innocents' alive?  
  
He suddenly growled lowly as he became aware that it suspiciously reminded him   
of some accidents that had happened due to the boy's care when he had been   
younger--- Determinate to find the missing piece of his puzzle, the Emperor   
contacted his most efficient... and closest agent to the Vader clan.  
  
  
  
  
The young woman answered his summon almost immediately, using her consort's   
holonet to establish a visual connection between the two of them.  
  
"What is thy bidding, Master?" Mara Jade queried respectfully.  
  
"Have you and Young Vader enjoyed your time off, my Hand?" he asked coolly, as   
if this were merely a social call.  
  
The young woman raised her head to answer him; he noticed her puzzled expression   
and smiled slightly to himself.  
  
"...Yes, Master. Thank you for the permission."  
  
"You earned it both," he answered shortly, then leaned closer to his   
transmission field. "Tell me, my Hand, is Young Vader well these days?"  
  
The fine definition of his holonet receiver allowed him to see every slight   
shift of the young woman's features as she considered his question.  
  
"As far as I can tell, Master," she finally answered him sincerely, "he grieves   
his sister, but otherwise, everything is as usual."  
  
"I see," he nodded as he leaned back in his chair.  
  
So the boy was still grieving his foolish sister, he mused. Could this be   
leading him to be less ruthless, he wondered in growing anger.  
  
"Anything else caught your attention, my Hand? Perhaps a change in strategy?"   
he suggested maliciously.  
  
"No, Master," she answered, "As for his new strategy, he and his father didn't   
want to orphan more children."  
  
There it was, he smiled to himself, the element that nobody else had been able   
to provide him with.  
  
Care indeed.  
  
Of course, he reflected with a sneer, his two Dark Lords were now out to make   
sure that no family would ever be separated like theirs had been... He should   
have known that they would be 'true' to their word. A little too much for his   
taste, he sneered inwardly. He made mental note to monitor them more closely   
during their next operations with 'innocents'. He could only be so lenient.  
  
"I see," he commented with a barely contained sneer of derision, "Does it seem   
to improve the situation?" he then asked mock-solicitously.  
  
"It seems to, Master," the red-head answered him respectfully.  
  
"Very well then," he nodded. "I trust that it will serve my purpose."  
  
"It will, Master," his servant reassured him earnestly, a trait that she had   
picked up from Young Vader, he noted yet again.   
  
While he tolerated that the boy was not completely swayed to the Dark Side, no   
matter how much he made him kill for him nor how much he used the dark powers to   
serve him, he didn't appreciate that his other servants displayed signs that his   
spontaneity and annoying good heart were rubbing off on them.  
  
He would have to separate those two soon, he decided, then reflected that if   
things went on as they did at the moment, he would soon have the perfect alibi   
to force them apart without their being aware of it.  
  
"Should it not," he warned the young woman, "they will hear from me, and, Mara   
Jade, if you notice anything peculiar about our young grieving Dark Lord, inform   
me immediately," he ordered her, implicitly reminding her that he was her   
master, her foremost devotion.   
  
"Yes, Master," his best servant bowed in acceptance.  
  
He cut the transmission, then turned away from the throne room and back toward   
his expanded viewport.  
  
If the boy displayed just one more sign that displeased him, he decided darkly,   
he was going to summon him here... and remind him where his loyalties laid.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Back in space, Luke's shuttle exited hyperspace and headed for the baying hangar   
bay of his father's flagship.  
  
He hadn't managed to get much rest, constantly resuming his thoughts and worries   
about the future and his family instead of relaxing. However, what little rest   
he had gotten had fortified him.  
  
He was now ready to resume his cool mask of young Lord Vader.  
  
He slowly stood up from his seat, then purposefully strode toward the boarding   
ramp, then down from it until he was standing in front of his waiting father.  
  
"Welcome aboard, Son," he welcomed him with barely a nod of his head.  
  
"Thank you, Father," he answered in a similar fashion, then silently stepped up   
to his side.  
  
Together, they walked down the aisle of few gathered troopers and gunners.   
  
"I trust that your short trip here went well," his father commented seriously.  
  
"Yes," Luke answered shortly, then was tempted to add that he had been worried   
about him, but restrained himself.  
  
Since it wouldn't be his usual self, he assumed a cool attitude.  
  
"Where is the mysterious ship?" he queried seriously.  
  
His father gave him a short glance, as if he had felt something in his voice,   
then indicated a corridor.  
  
"In the secondary hangars; follow me," he invited him.  
  
As he walked on beside him, Luke gazed at his father from the corner of his eye.  
  
Darth Vader or not, he admitted that he was proud of his father, of the strong   
being whom he had become.  
  
"Now that I'm here," he asked as seriously as he could, "can you tell me what   
this is all about?"  
  
His father barely nodded in agreement.  
  
"We found a passenger shuttle while we were patrolling on Line 245," he began   
coolly.  
  
The less traveled, and most-used-for-smuggling line of traffic, Luke instantly   
identified in his mind. Given the presence of mini black holes in the area, the   
'Death's Run', as it was called, was one of the most dangerous path of   
navigation that one could choose.  
  
"I take it that whoever sent the ship didn't want us to find it," he reflected   
out loud.  
  
"You couldn't be more right," his father answered cryptically as they entered   
the secondary hangars.  
  
Even though his father hadn't told him which ship was their destination, Luke   
immediately spotted it; it was sitting alone within a cordon of heavily armed   
stormtroopers. What pinpointed it to him though was not what he saw, but what   
he felt.  
  
Despair, fear... innocence.  
  
He exchanged a confused gaze with his father; Vader remained impassive.   
  
Silently, he and his father made their way toward the ship, then stepped inside   
the cordon. Wordlessly, his father then lowered the boarding ramp and invited   
him to take a look inside. Puzzled by his father's unusual attitude, the youth   
climbed aboard--- and stopped short in his track.  
  
There, gathered in the main lounge of the big shuttle, were no less than thirty   
children obviously aged of less than fourteen years old.  
  
He didn't need any other clue to understand what it meant: despite their new   
tactics, children were still suffering.  
  
He would have to move quicker against the Emperor.  
  
  
  
Anakin followed his son up the ramp, then stopped behind him when he gasped in   
shock. He knew that just as he himself had experienced earlier today, his son   
had just realized that their strategy was not fulfilling their goal.   
  
In front of them, the children cringed down on the deck, frightened beyond   
belief at the sight of the two famed Dark Lords. If only they knew that they   
didn't have to fear him anymore, he reflected sadly; if only he had listened to   
Padme, way back when.  
  
"Do we know where they're coming from?" his son finally inquired although he   
continued to study the young, scared refugees.  
  
"We're still working on the logs," he answered seriously. "They were encrypted,   
obviously to prevent us from retracing their parents."  
  
Luke sighed in comprehension, then slowly turned around until he was facing him;   
Anakin reflexively sought his eyes; the compassion he saw under his cooler mask   
relieved him.  
  
"I think we need to talk, Father," he commented solemnly.  
  
"Yes, we do," he agreed, then turned around and exited the shuttle.  
  
Behind him, he heard the slight rustle of fabric against leather as his son took   
a last gaze at their new charges, then followed him outside. Given his son's   
obvious shock, he estimated that he would be open to hear about the truth of   
their situation, and, most important, about the only solution that they could   
use to reach their goal.   
  
Of course, he reminded himself, he would have to wade carefully around him; his   
good heart was more tempered than when he had been a child, but when he allowed   
himself to relax, it always returned, pure, loving, earnest, and strong---- like   
when he had gazed at the lost children.  
  
Once they had both exited the ship, he turned his attention back to the closest   
trooper and gave him orders to make sure that the children were properly fed and   
cared for until new orders came in.  
  
Then, he and his son silently headed for his quarters... and what would   
undoubtedly be a serious, perhaps even dangerous discussion.  
  
  
  
  
More children had lost their parents, Luke reflected glumly as he walked beside   
his father. More parents had given up their children to protect them from the   
Emperor.  
  
He promised himself that he would find those parents and reunite all those   
families, even if it took him years to do so.  
  
  
  
  
  
Two minutes later, the double doors of his father's quarters opened upon their   
approach, then closed once they were inside.  
  
Alone at last, he thought even as he braced himself for what could be 'the' talk   
that he had been hoping for.  
  
"What are we going to do?" he asked his father seriously.  
  
"Find their parents of course," was his answer.  
  
Luke shook his head as he stepped around and in front of his father until he was   
facing him.  
  
"I mean, to prevent it from ever happening again," he specified.  
  
"Well, we could always increase our spy resources and track them all down before   
they can do anything," his father suggested as he turned away from him and began   
to pace near his meditation chamber.  
  
Luke snorted at his suggestion; he crossed his arms over his chest.  
  
"Given the size of the galaxy, this is impossible to accomplish and you know it,   
Father," he shrewdly pointed out.  
  
His father stopped his pacing at that.  
  
"Well, we can't simply kill them all," he commented, deathly quiet.  
  
"Over my dead body," Luke reflexively retorted--- then realized that he had   
allowed his mask to slip away. He hurried to conceal his true, renewed Jedi   
self. "It wouldn't serve us well," he commented as coldly as he could.  
  
Meanwhile, his father gazed at him even as he lightly probed him through the   
Force; Luke made sure that he felt nothing out of the ordinary.  
  
  
  
  
As Anakin lightly probed his son after his surprising remark, his hopes returned   
to their normal rate. Luke wasn't back in the Light, but he didn't want to   
witness a blood bath either. Well, then, he braced himself, he only had one   
option to suggest.   
  
It was now or never.  
  
"If we can't kill all those troublemakers, then we can't really kill the cause   
of their trouble... can we?" he inquired with just a note of dry humor that   
would save his life if he had misread his son's heart.  
  
For a long moment, the youth only gaped at him, his arms going limp at his sides   
as he tried to process what he had just heard.  
  
"You mean," he finally whispered, "the... Emperor?.." he asked hesitatingly.  
The fact that his son understood what he meant 'and' that he hadn't threatened   
him yet of retribution heartened Anakin. He stepped slightly closer to the   
distraught youth.  
  
"What if we killed him to save them all, Son?" he asked again, more explicitly.  
Luke locked his blue gaze on his hidden one, a thousand thoughts obviously   
racing all around his mind; he still remained silent.  
  
"We would not only free them, but ourselves as well, Luke," he continued,   
resting his hands on his son's broad shoulders.  
  
The youth smiled slightly at this, as if the idea didn't completely disgust him,   
then a flash of intelligence appeared briefly in his eyes, warning him that he   
had just awaken from his temporary daze.  
  
Unlike what Vader expected though, his son didn't draw away from him in anger;   
instead, he seemed to relax from a tension that he hadn't been aware that he had   
been feeling.  
  
"Tell me, Father, have you seen Leia lately?" he asked him, catching him   
completely by surprise.  
  
It was his turn to gape, although invisibly, at his son... Then it clicked.  
  
He didn't have to convince Luke; Leia had already made him accept the truth and   
they merely needed to talk to one another to plan the future.  
  
  
  
  
  
Luke silently sighed in relief when he became aware that his father wasn't Lord   
Vader anymore; he wasn't plotting to replace the Emperor... he was Anakin   
Skywalker once again. He surmised that he had returned while he himself had   
been shedding his own darkness. They wouldn't have to become enemies, he smiled   
happily. Obviously sharing his relief, his father pulled him into a tight   
embrace which left no doubt about the return of his father's Light.  
  
"How long have you been covering your true self?" his father inquired warmly in   
his ear.  
  
"A little over a week now, you?" he asked, returning his father's embrace   
tenfold.  
  
And for the first time since he had reached teenage-hood, he didn't feel any   
shame to be demonstrative with him.  
  
"The same," Anakin answered, then pulled away from him, worry now detectable in   
his opened senses. "Does Mara know?" he asked seriously.  
  
Both relieved and saddened by his answer, the youth shook his head.   
  
"She thinks that I'm mourning Leia," he reassured his father. "However, I have   
to restrain our bond," he added uneasily.  
  
"That must be raising questions with her," his father observed seriously.  
  
"Yes," the young Jedi agreed, "it does, but so far, I managed to explain it as   
being due to my private sorrow which I don't want her to feel."  
  
"It will suffice for a while," Anakin seemed to frown, "but eventually, we will   
have to tell her or... do something about her," he finished sadly.  
  
"I can't hurt her, Father," Luke instantly objected even as he took a step away   
from him. "I truly love her, just as I love you and Leia."  
  
"I know," his father slightly nodded in understanding. "I never thought that   
your love for her wasn't genuine."  
  
The two of them remained silent for a few seconds, then Luke took a deep breath   
and brought back up the crux of their conversation.  
  
"What are we going to do now, Father?" he queried seriously.  
  
"Kill the Emperor and free the galaxy," was the short answer once again.  
  
Luke frowned despite himself.  
  
"How? The tyrant is much more powerful than we know, and he probably watches   
our every move."  
  
"He certainly does," Anakin nodded, then turned away and walked toward his inner   
room. "This is why I always sweep my quarters for listening devices."  
  
Luke, who had been following his father, suddenly stopped in his steps and gaped   
as he realized that they might have just signed their death warrant, but his   
father turned back toward him.  
  
"Don't worry, I sweep the rooms every time that I enter them."  
  
Luke took an easier breath, then promised himself to check his own quarters for   
such devices. While he suspected that Mara was the only spy that the Emperor   
needed with him, he also knew his slaver well enough to fear that he would plant   
listening devices if he had even slight doubts about his devotion.  
  
"Come now," Anakin invited him. "We have some planning to do."  
  
Luke shook himself out of his fears, then followed his father.   
  
It was time to plan how they were going to rescue the galaxy, the right way this   
time.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
TBC in part 5: the beginning  
  
  
SJ: Skyjade@globetrotter.net (any positive stuff is welcome, but negative or   
mean comments will be thrown down the Sarlacc's throat without being read.) 


	30. Redemption 5: The Beginning

Redemption  
Part 5: The Beginning  
By SJ 12-23-01/ 05-02 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
While he watched his son's shuttle make the transition into hyperspace, Anakin   
made a silent prayer to the Force.  
They had to succeed.  
  
If their plan failed... If they were uncovered by the Emperor... Everything   
would be lost forever for everyone. He then admitted that the future had never   
been this clear... yet uncertain for his family. He and Luke knew exactly which   
goal they had to reach, and mostly how they would be able to reach it, but at   
the same time, anything could go wrong at any moment.  
  
They had decided to take it one step at the time and to re-evaluate their plan   
as they went.  
  
Hence, the first step on which they had agreed on was to maintain the illusion   
that nothing had changed while they would discreetly gather information about   
the Emperor's clones and his true powers. However, he reminded himself as he   
turned away from his viewport and returned to the ship of the captured children,   
they had agreed to not inflict anymore pain of any kind.  
  
They would find other ways to maintain the Emperor's order.  
  
The trick though, Anakin admitted to himself, was to convince the tyrant that   
their new tactics were due to the failing results of other techniques; that they   
were inspired by Luke's experience with the Rebels and his sister. They even   
estimated that Mara Jade would condone them since she too had been with Rebels,   
seeing for herself the 'reasons' behind their upheaval.   
  
Mara Jade, he thought more seriously... Now there was an element that he didn't   
know how to maneuver. His son loved her as much as he himself had loved Padme;   
he knew what this kind of love made one do... and not do. He didn't have any   
doubts about his son's devotion to their strategy, he conceded, but at the same   
time, he could imagine how torn apart the youth was at the moment; it would be   
even worse when they would have to consider the young woman as a true, dangerous   
enemy. For a moment, he hoped that Leia and Padme would talk with her, but he   
somehow knew that they couldn't.  
  
Mara Jade wasn't part of their family... Other than her love for Luke, she had   
never known anything but the Emperor's overwhelming control. She would betray   
them, he surmised forlornly, making a mental note that when the time would come,   
he would have to pull his son away from her. This wouldn't be a happy day for   
either of them, he sighed glumly, then forced himself to recover his composure.  
  
He was coming up on the secondary hangars.  
  
He noted that the ship's status hadn't changed. Walking past the security   
cordon, he climbed back aboard the shuttle; inside, the children were now under   
the watchful eyes of young conscripts who had been given babysitting duties.  
  
Anakin motioned to them to leave the ship. While they obeyed him, scared of his   
mere presence, he himself studied the children. He discovered that they had   
indeed been fed, even cleaned in some cases, and that the younger children had   
taken advantage of their new sleeping rolls.  
  
The older children though were still gathered together, as if planning   
something.  
  
The ex-dark lord slowly approached them.  
  
"We will return you to your parents," he told them seriously. "but to do that,   
we need to know where we must direct the ship."  
  
"No," a young girl instantly objected, keeping the others from answering him.   
"He will only hurt them when he finds them." She turned her small, defiant face   
toward him. "I won't let you hurt Mom and Dad," she stated   
maturely.  
  
Around her, the other oldsters nodded in agreement with her.  
  
Anakin sighed in acceptance. He had expected this kind of reaction, but, he   
conceded, he hadn't foreseen such strength of character in one this young.  
He decided to try another tactic to convince her that he didn't want to find her   
parents; he crouched in front of the children until he were at eye level with   
them.  
  
That surprised his young audience.  
  
"If I wanted to keep you away from your parents," he told them seriously, "I   
wouldn't try to return you to them. I too have children," he then added more   
gently, gazing briefly at each child. "and I lost one not so long ago... I   
don't want to hurt your parents like this," he finished earnestly, then tried to   
think as Vader used to. "If they don't hurt anybody in turn," he informed the   
young girl, "I won't search them out. I promise."  
  
"Promised promise?" a small boy inquired doubtfully.  
  
"On the love of my defunct daughter," he answered earnestly.  
  
He didn't know if the children would understand what he meant, but to his   
relief, they slowly did. Even as his own son had seen his slavery for what it   
was, way back when, those youngsters recognized his care for what it was.  
  
"I don't want you to tell me where they are," he informed them gently. "If one   
of you will come with me, we can program the computer, then you will only have   
to add the name of your home-planet after I left."  
  
"I can," the boy on his left offered, raising his hand to volunteer. "My father   
taught me how to use the ship's computer... in case we needed to reprogram it,"   
he explained seriously.  
  
In case they were found and needed to escape, Anakin understood. Whatever the   
secret of those children's parents was, they sure went to great lengths to make   
sure that their children wouldn't be found. He slowly straightened up, then   
turned and headed toward the cockpit. The young teenager followed him from a   
distance.  
  
In an hour at most, Ani reflected in relief, those children would once again be   
on their way to their parents... and would tell them to keep quiet for the time   
being. Hopefully, he thought seriously, he wouldn't have to break his promise   
to the children.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Aboard his shuttle, Luke exited his meditation trance. He had hoped to be able   
to speak with his sister again, but for some reason, he hadn't been able to   
establish the contact.  
  
Instead, he had seen flashes of places where he would be able to gather   
information about his master and his clones, the only problem being how he would   
leave his ship and gather them, he conceded as he reintegrated his full senses.   
Unlike when he had been an agent, a 'slave' to whom no one had ever paid any   
attention to, he now had commanding duties which he couldn't abandon without   
looking suspicious; the last thing that he and his father wanted, he reminded   
himself, was to attract attention.  
  
Hence, he wondered, how would he leave the ship without being seen, or even   
noticed. Secret was the first idea that came to him, then he slowly began to   
decide that he would need a secret get-away built right in his private quarters,   
but without anyone's knowledge... especially Mara's, he admitted, closing his   
eyes in regret as yet another secret came between them.   
  
As long as Mara would be with him, he knew that he wouldn't be able to implement   
any of what he needed to do to eventually kill the dark monster. He didn't   
resent her presence of course, but the more he would delay, the longer it would   
take for the galaxy to be free from its torments, and the longer himself and his   
father would have to maintain the illusion that they were still steeped in the   
Dark Side.  
  
While he himself had become more than proficient to pretend to be someone else,   
he wondered how his father would manage it. Unlike himself, Anakin had never   
been trained like he had been; he had merely been seduced and turned into a   
right hand for the Emperor. However, he knew that like himself, he had spent   
most of his life as a Vader. He undoubtedly knew how to act as if he were still   
him.  
  
They would have to be wary though, he reflected grimly as he stood back to his   
feet. Starting today, they wouldn't be able to trust anyone but one another...   
At this thought, Luke dimly hope that his lover would someday forgive him for   
his betrayal of their bond...  
  
  
******  
  
  
Aboard the Annihilator, Mara waited for Luke's return.   
  
Ever since the Emperor had called her, she had pondered again and again the   
events of the past week with her boyfriend; she had been unable to put her   
finger on what was worrying her master.   
  
Luke was as devoted to him as she was, and while he wasn't as ruthless as he   
used to be, he was still successful and merciless. Yet at the same time, she   
conceded, he was slowly becoming more emotional with her, like when he had been   
younger, she remembered wistfully. Of course, she admitted, the loss of his   
sister had been a major blow to him, one even worse than when their master had   
exacted revenge on him for the destruction of the Death Star.   
  
Back then, she remembered that he had been badly shaken, almost to the point of   
resenting their master, but he had recovered his cooler edge a few weeks later,   
once his injuries had faded into the back of his memories, as had all his other   
punishments before.  
  
It would be the same thing this time, she reassured herself. With time, Luke   
would recover from the loss of his sister, whom he had barely found before she   
had been ripped away again from him. He had already lost his drive for revenge,   
resuming his more self-effaced service to the Emperor; she knew, at the bottom   
of her heart, that her boyfriend would soon recover his cooler attitude, proving   
that her master's worries were pointless.  
  
The object of her thoughts entered her awareness even as his shuttle began its   
landing approach. Whatever had happened with his father, she sensed, it had   
strengthened him. He felt more assured now then when he had left her.  
  
The metallic bird finally settled down, then she felt 'him' come closer.   
Assuming once again her role of consort, she bent her knees and bowed her head,   
then held her curtsy for as long as he hadn't offered her his hand to help her   
up.  
  
"Welcome back, my Lord," she purred sensually. "I trust that your meeting went   
well."  
  
"Very well," he nodded, then addressed his nearby officers. "Ready the ship and   
red fleet for a jump for hyperspace. We are going to Talvasta."  
  
While the officers acknowledged his orders, Mara frowned slightly in surprise.  
  
Talvasta? On the other side of the known galaxy?  
  
*What's there, flyboy?* she asked him seriously.  
  
*Parents with a need to hide their children from us,* he answered, then   
refocused on his officers.  
  
"What about the upcoming mission on Rialteer, my Lord?" General Veers inquired   
respectfully.   
  
"My father will take care of the trouble here," the youth answered shortly, then   
locked his gaze on his charges. "You have your orders, gentlemen."  
  
He then turned back toward her and offered her his arm. She knew his signal;   
she slipped her hand in the crook of his arm, then allowed him to lead her away   
from the assembled men.  
  
*I guess they are not thrilled by the prospect of a month-long transition in   
hyperspace,* she observed through the Force.  
  
*They will be much less pleased by what will happen if they discuss my orders   
again,* her boyfriend retorted with an edge of anger in his senses.  
  
Something had definitely happened with his father, she decided. However, she   
was aware that he didn't want to talk about it in front of the troops, even if   
they couldn't hear them. She decided to wait until they would be alone before   
discussing it with him.  
  
  
  
  
While he walked with Mara toward the bridge, Luke carefully scanned what he   
could perceive from her, but he didn't probe her.   
  
His order had surprised her, but his anger was reassuring her that it was not a   
ploy. However, Luke suspected that she was going to grill him for answers about   
what his father had to show him, then what was so important on Talvasta to take   
a main part of the fleet out of the circuit for nearly a month. He hoped that   
his story would make it pass her usually sharp senses. She didn't suspect   
anything yet, but she was trained, like he himself was, to not trust anybody,   
not even him when it came to her wary feelings.  
  
He decided to delay the moment until they would be alone. Anyway, he reflected   
seriously, he really 'had' to oversee the fleet's regrouping before he told them   
that they were going to spend the next month in transit... with stopovers now   
and then for him to gather information about clones.  
  
He already knew exactly how to justify some of those, and as for the others, he   
would think of something.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
On Coruscant, the Emperor stood quietly in front of his throne's room bay   
window.   
  
However, he was not quiet; he was growing worried about his Empire, and   
especially his youngest commander and right arm. While the incoming reports   
couldn't give him any reason to 'really' worry about the youth, an undercurrent   
of recovering Light was stirring the Force lately.  
  
He didn't like it one tiny bit, especially since he could recognize the boy's   
caring signature in it. However, whenever he probed the Force for answer, he   
never found anything incriminating young Vader, nor could he truly identify such   
clues in his spies' reports, not even his most reliable one. Unlike with his   
father, he didn't need to plant spying devices in his quarters; he already had   
the best tool that he could devise in the form of Mara Jade. He knew that she   
saw and felt everything, and that she would never lie to him; if the young woman   
felt something wrong with her consort, she would tell him, no matter what she   
'felt' for him.  
  
Not like his father who tried to protect the youth, yet still obeyed his orders   
when needed, he admitted. He also kept destroying his spying devices, he   
thought more grimly, then shrugged in dismissal. If Vader didn't find his   
devices, he would begin to doubt his value to him. Hence, in a way, he was   
pleased that the older man was still able to undo 'those' lame tricks.  
  
As for the youth, he thought as he returned on his previous track of reflection,   
perhaps his change of tactics was more a coincidence than anything else, but he   
hadn't become Emperor by accepting such suppositions. He believed in being   
thorough, even if it meant 'questioning' his servant if he had to. However, he   
tempered himself, before he reached this last option, he still had a few cards   
to play.  
  
No sense to hurt the boy until he truly had no option left, he reminded himself.  
After all, he did serve him rather well, if not as cruelly nor meanly as he   
liked, he admitted.  
  
He turned around and motioned to his aide to come closer.  
  
"What is thy bidding, your Highness" the man bowed respectfully.  
  
"Establish contact with Lord Darth Vader's flagship. I wish to speak with him."  
  
"Yes, your Highness," the other answered, still keeping his head bowed, then   
turned around to fulfil his new duty.  
  
Meanwhile, the Emperor sat in his throne and waited for the older Vader to   
answer his summon.  
  
  
  
******  
  
Anakin hurried to reach his quarters. The Emperor was waiting for him.  
Since the regular anti-rebel operations were proceeding well and that all the   
rebel bases had already been dealt with, he knew that his calling meant only one   
thing: he suspected something.  
  
He decided that himself would convince him that nothing had changed for either   
him or his son.  
  
He finally reached his destination, then knelt on the reception structure and   
bowed his head. The Emperor's holo instantly towered over him.  
  
"What is thy bidding, Master?" he inquired as respectfully as he could.  
  
In fact though, he was disgusted by his now-revealed slavery.  
  
"I've been reading yours and your son's reports," the old despot informed him   
with a note of displeasure in his voice.  
  
Yes, Anakin thought quickly, he did suspect something.   
  
"I must say," the other continued, "that this isn't like you, to spare the lives   
of this many potential enemies, let alone resort to complex, long-term   
operations with several infiltrators at the same time."  
  
"We had no choice to change our tactics, Master," he explained as deferentially   
as he could.  
  
"And why so?" he asked, his voice slowly evolving toward a definite warning.  
  
And now was the time to think as Vader would, Anakin thought grimly.  
  
"Given both Luke's and Mara's experiences with the rebels," he explained   
seriously, "my son suggested that we put an end to blood-sheds in order to kill   
the Rebellion at its source."  
  
"To my expanse," the Emperor retorted coldly.   
  
"For a short time only, Master," Anakin reassured him. "By planting agents who   
will take care to undo any pro-rebellion propaganda 'and' with my son and myself   
who will continue brainwash the briefly captured leaders, we will achieve your   
goal of complete dominion without anybody being the wiser."  
  
And he had better enjoy it while he could, Anakin added to himself. Once the   
despot would call Mara back in his service, Luke would be able to accomplish his   
own part of the plan, then they would destroy him.  
  
"It is still an unusual strategy for you or your son, Lord Vader," the wary old   
man commented acidly. "I am wondering... is your son well these days?"  
  
Anakin felt an icy cold shiver run throughout his whole body at those words.  
The Emperor somehow suspected Luke's return to the Light.  
  
"I haven't noticed anything different from usual, Master," he reassured him.   
"Why?"  
  
"He has obviously taken his rebel-sister's death to heart," the other stated   
coldly, "and it now seems to affect even his attitude."  
  
"Master? Has Luke defied you?" he inquired like the 'good', devoted slave that   
he was supposed to be.  
  
"No," the ruler barely shook his head, "Not yet..." he then added grimly, "but   
his new strategies, although efficient, do not please me with their   
implication."  
  
Anakin nodded, as if in understanding.  
  
"I will go to him and have a serious talk with him, Master," he reassured the   
other.  
  
Oh yes, he promised himself, he would warn his son to resume some of his darker   
attitudes or else the Emperor would come down on him.  
  
"You may talk with him as seriously as you want, Lord Vader," the Emperor   
informed him coldly, implicitly telling him that he would condone any decision   
he made, even---  
  
What had Luke done to worry him this much, he wondered worriedly. What was he   
unknowingly broadcasting?..  
  
"Nevertheless," the Emperor continued. "I will keep an eye on him for the time   
being, and if I don't see any changes," the evil man warned threateningly, "'I'   
will have a talk with him."  
  
Anakin knew exactly which talk he was referring to, and he knew that trained or   
not, his son's true nature wouldn't be able to hide itself for long in such a   
situation.  
  
"That won't be necessary, Master," he reassured him. "My son will forget his   
sister and her influence," he lied through his teeth.  
  
"Good," the hooded despot smiled slightly. "I expected no less from you, my   
friend. I will await your report."  
  
"Yes, Master," he bowed.  
  
The Emperor cut his transmission; Anakin hurried back his feet, then, after   
checking his surroundings for listening devices, cursed vehemently. When they   
had selected their new strategy, Luke had merely suggested the uses of the   
mental locks to mimic brainwashes; he himself was the brain behind the   
infiltration of agents and the use of imperial resources to 'blockade' several   
places... Yet the Emperor had put everything on his son's shoulders.  
  
Of course, he admitted, the youth had always had a penchant for the less cruel   
tactics with regular citizens, and he had never lost his heart; he knew that   
this had always miffed the Emperor, yet he had tolerated it to have his powers   
in his service. He also knew that the ruler had attempted to eradicate Luke's   
care more than once, but it had never worked. Even worse, when Leia had begun   
to live with them, Luke had devoted himself to 'her', not the Emperor; he   
himself had naturally known that his son's love for his sister was strengthening   
his Light, but he had never expected that the Emperor would feel it too and that   
a change of tactics would enrage him.  
  
The only good thing in this set-up, he admitted sadly, was that the Emperor was   
so focused on his son that he never even suspected his own transition back to   
his starting point. But now, he thought seriously as he paced near his   
meditation chamber, what did they have to do to protect Luke?  
  
*Leia?* he called in the Force.  
  
His daughter appeared right beside him, as angelic-looking as ever.  
  
*Father,* she nodded, answering through the Force to keep their conversation   
silent.  
  
Anakin noticed it and followed suite.  
  
*What has Luke done to awaken the Emperor's suspicion?* he asked seriously. *We   
checked his shields when we were together; they couldn't be breached and were   
undetectable, as were mine. What happened?*  
  
*As you know, Anakin,* her daughter began wistfully, *Luke is very powerful in   
the Force, the most powerful ever...*  
  
He nodded in agreement. He knew that his son's powers were indeed formidable,   
unlike anything that he had ever encountered with the Jedis of old.  
  
*This strength is the same, Light or Dark. Hence, now that his presence in the   
Force has changed polarity,* his daughter explained seriously.   
  
*He stirs the current of the Force even though he shields his identity,* he   
finished for her in both awe and worry.  
  
*Exactly,* Leia nodded. *Mara isn't powerful enough to feel it, even when he is   
with her, but the Emperor is, and since nobody else in the galaxy is liable to   
cause such stirrings, he suspects Luke, especially because of his caring   
signature. He doesn't know for sure though,* she informed him matter-of-factly.  
  
Anakin cursed at that; he had just confirmed this to the other with his answers   
during their conversation. A fierce blush of indignation burned his hidden   
cheeks as he realized that he had once again been manipulated by the Emperor.   
Even though he knew him very well, he still fell in his traps.  
  
*What can we do to rid the despot of his wariness?* he asked his daughter even   
though he knew the answer.  
  
Deep down, he knew that he would have to hurt his son again...  
  
*I'm afraid so, Father,* his daughter nodded reluctantly. *In fact, I'm afraid   
that you and Luke won't be able to be Light just yet...* she informed him, her   
ethereal eyes shining with unshed tears of compassion.  
  
Somehow, Anakin conceded, he had suspected that, but at the same time, it had   
been so wonderful to shed his cruel self for a while.  
  
He had been free, at last.  
  
*This time will come, Father,* his little angel told him warmly, *but not yet...   
not yet...*  
  
*Other sacrifices from both ourselves and the galaxy need to be done if we want   
to be able to strike and succeed,* he reluctantly nodded even as a speech from   
Master Yoda came back to him.  
  
'Never so direct, the ways of the Force are,' the aging alien had said back   
then.  
  
Anakin was only beginning to understand what he had meant, and what it meant for   
those of them who were now involved in the ways of the Force. He and his son   
would have to be patient and carefully bid their time while keeping up the   
appearances... and wreak havoc in the galaxy to mislead their one and true   
enemy.  
  
*Then,* he sighed in acceptance, *we will simply go the distance.*  
  
*Mother and I will be with you,* his daughter reassured him, then locked her   
gaze with his. *Give Mother's pendant to Luke, Father,* she counseled him, then   
disappeared back in the Force.  
  
Leaving him with a duty that he had wished to never do ever again.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
When the Annihilator came out of hyperspace, it and its surrounding companions   
were a mere three days from their point of origin. Luke instantly demanded to   
know who had dared interrupt their transition without his orders; he was thus   
informed that they had received a message from his father's shuttle.  
  
Surprised by his father's upcoming visit, he barely had time to consider why he   
would leave his 'position' to speak with him before the said shuttle popped out   
of hyperspace and landed aboard his own ship. As usual, the proper reception   
committee was present to welcome him aboard, but unlike the other times, his   
father barely acknowledged his presence, instead sending him through the Force   
to come with him and not dawdle.  
  
Surprised by his curtness, Luke briefly probed his father's senses, slightly   
worried that Vader was back, but he sighed in relief when Anakin returned his   
probe without any of the anger that he was displaying outwardly.  
  
*We have to talk,* his father sent him with some lingering reluctance which   
worried Luke.  
  
Behind him, Mara gazed at him and his departing father, equally wondering what   
was going to happen next.  
  
  
They finally reached his quarters and sealed themselves in it, leaving everybody   
else out of their secret.  
  
"What's wrong, Father?" he inquired the moment that the doors were locked.  
  
Beside him, he felt Anakin brace himself even as he stepped further inside the   
reception room.  
  
"The Emperor knows about your status of returned Jedi," he finally told him   
glumly, his back still turned to him.  
  
Luke was flabbergasted.  
  
He knew??  
  
"How??" he breathed in barely-concealed horror, remaining locked in his place.  
In front of him, his father took a deep breath, then slowly turned back toward   
him until he was facing him once again.  
  
"Your powers, Luke..." he answered shortly. "They are such that even though you   
shield your true self, your transition to the Light side stirs the up-to-now   
dormant Force.. and he feels it."  
  
"And not yours?" the youth inquired in disbelief.  
  
His father silently shook his head, then turned away from him once again.   
  
"I talked again with Leia," he commented seriously; Luke felt that what would   
follow would be filled with bad news.  
  
"And?" he reluctantly inquired.  
  
"We have to revise our plans," the taller man sighed in wariness.  
  
Luke walked closer to him until he could lay a hand on his large shoulder.   
  
"What is wrong, Father?" he asked him seriously, worried by his father's   
reluctance to gaze at him.  
  
Whatever it was, he thought dimly, he didn't want his father to carry the burden   
alone. Anakin slowly turned around once again, locked his hidden eyes with his,   
then lowered his chin once again.  
  
"I will have to punish you... for the Emperor," he sadly told him, then, as the   
youth drew away in shock, quickly added: "I'm sorry; I don't any wish to obey   
him, believe me."  
  
While Luke fought hard against his temptation to resist what was to come, he   
felt that it wasn't the worst of his father's news.  
  
"After that,..." Anakin continued reluctantly, "we will have to slow down the   
pace of our strategy against him... and truly keep up the appearances until it   
'is' time to strike, once and for all."  
  
Meaning, Luke realized in stark horror, that they would resume being Dark   
Lords...  
  
"No...," he whispered in disgust, "there must be another way, we can't---"  
  
His father's gently brought his gloved hand to his right cheek; he fell silent.  
He could feel how saddened his father also was, but just like he himself knew,   
Anakin knew that they didn't have any other choice.  
  
"We tried, Son," he told him wisely, "and it didn't work. We have to do   
something else, and, as Master Yoda once said, the workings of the Force are   
never direct."  
  
"Then," Luke inquired even as he reluctantly nodded in agreement, "how long will   
we continue to hurt others?"  
  
"For as long as we will need to prepare the Emperor's demise without his   
suspecting anything,... In time," his father then promised sincerely, "you and I   
will make it up for all those sacrifices."  
  
"The wasted lives will never return," he glumly reminded his father.  
  
"That is why we will make sure that the deaths will be worthwhile, and more,"   
his father answered gently, then pulled him into a tight embrace.  
  
Luke, who still had to come to grips with what the future had in store for them,   
accepted his father's embrace as warmth in their suddenly cold, cruel world.  
  
'Only for the time being,' he reminded himself even as he fought against his   
tears of sorrow, he would only have to deny his true self for a little while   
longer... then the masquerade and slavery would be over.  
  
Forever.  
  
"As I told you last time, Luke," his father said in the silence, "I wish that I   
didn't have to hurt you."  
  
"But we don't have any other choice if we want to quiet his doubts," he mumbled   
against his father's chest.   
  
"Exactly," his father agreed, then slightly pulled away from him and gently   
cupped his face in his two hands. "However," he told him seriously, "I truly   
don't want to hurt you anymore than I have to."  
  
"You can't do it halfway, Father," Luke reminded him seriously. "'He' won't be   
satisfied by it."  
  
"But you don't need to feel it either," his father pointed out... and Luke began   
to understand what he was planning to do.  
  
"Are you sure that it will work?" he inquired as Anakin lowered his hands from   
his face to his shoulders.   
  
His father flicked a glance toward the double doors.  
  
"Your friend will 'help' us to convince him once we're done with our report to   
him," he informed him seriously.  
  
For a moment, Luke briefly debated whether he wanted to involve Mara in their   
plan or not, then relented. The faster that they would convince the Emperor,   
the faster that he would unfortunately call Mara away from him... and the faster   
that he would be able to gather his information...  
  
"All right," he finally agreed.   
  
He pulled away from his father, then took off his cloak and discarded it as if   
it had been ripped away from him. His father nodded, then suggested that they   
moved the other part of their 'plan' to his inner quarters.  
  
After all, he silently agreed, young Lord Vader's discipline would be kept   
secret from his troops and subordinates.  
  
  
  
  
TBC in part 6: Appearances  
  
  
SJ: Skyjade@globetrotter.net (any positive stuff is welcome, but negative or   
mean comments will be thrown down the Sarlacc's throat without being read.) 


	31. Redemption 6: Appearances

Redemption  
Part 6: Appearances  
By SJ 12-23-01/ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
  
  
Mara didn't like to be kept out by locked doors. Normally, she wouldn't have   
been stopped for long by them, but since she was supposed to be little more than   
young Lord Vader's consort, she had patiently waited to be allowed inside by her   
boyfriend and his father. Naturally, she had tried to get a sense of what had   
been going on behind the closed doors, but other than a flash of terror from her   
lover, she hadn't felt anything but a cold wall which she knew was designed to   
keep her away from his mind for the time being.  
  
Eventually, she admitted to herself that she had a very, very bad feeling about   
this.  
  
Finally, the doors opened; she gathered her skirts in her hands and rushed   
inside--- only to freeze in shock when she heard her boyfriend's yelp of pain,   
then the sound of a body crashing on the deck. Putting one and one together,   
she ran toward the now revealed black silhouette of his father--- and stopped   
short in horror.  
  
There, less than five meters away from her, laid her lover, weakened unlike   
anything that she had ever seen for him. While she took in those details, his   
father mentioned something about remembering where he belonged, then the dark   
lord turned around, seemed to glare at her before he stalked toward the double   
doors.  
  
For another, extra moment, Mara remained frozen in confusion and horror, then   
she recovered and rushed to her lover's help.   
  
At first unsure if he was still conscious or not, she checked his senses, then,   
once she managed to rouse him, asked him what had happened.  
  
"I... angered the master..." he answered cryptically, weakly.  
  
Angered the master?, she wondered in confusion. How? When? What had he done?  
Before she could ask him more questions though, she felt him slip back into   
unconsciousness. She roused him again.  
  
"I can't carry you alone, Luke. You have to help me," she told him seriously.  
  
Then, before he could answer her, she slipped her hand behind his neck and   
helped him up to a sitting position.  
  
  
  
  
  
"So I take it that you don't have access to the medcenter, huh?" his lover   
inquired seriously once he had crashed on their bed.  
  
Luke barely moaned in answer, having depleted his reserves of energies to reach   
their bedroom.  
  
"Just what did you do this time, farmboy?" she inquired from inside their small   
'fresher'. A silence ensued. "Well?" she demanded as she returned in the room.  
  
Feeling unable to talk yet aware that his 'confessing' to Mara would be the   
final touch to his and his father's cover-up strategy, he reached out for her,   
re-establishing as much of their link as he could without betraying his true   
secret.  
  
*I was under my sister's influence,* he sent briefly.  
  
"Your sister? But she's dead," Mara objected.  
  
*Not completely,* he mentally amended. *While we were together, her good heart   
and Light side powers managed to get through to me... and I kept her alive with   
my memories... until now.*  
  
"So," Mara nodded while she sat beside him to begin his tending, "what you're   
saying is that she was corrupting you?"  
  
*Yes,* he admitted mock-shamefully. *I didn't even know that it was happening,   
but the Master felt it... and warned Father.*  
  
"And the punishment? If you didn't know about it, why did he punish you?"  
  
*Because I wouldn't listen otherwise,* he lied, hiding it under feelings of   
shame and repentance.   
  
"Still because of your sister's influence," Mara surmised as she continued to   
dab at his injuries.  
  
*Yes,* he agreed with her. *Now, I will be wary of strange thoughts; I won't   
care anymore about my targets.*  
  
His lover expressed her relief, then fell silent; so did he.  
  
While he tried to not complain too much, as if hardening himself, he reflected   
that accepting another 'discipline' was one thing, but being behind orders that   
would condemn more souls... he would truly need to harden himself to play his   
part to perfection. He knew that he couldn't fail and risk the Emperor's   
suspicion once again; he wouldn't survive the next time, nor would his father   
once he would be alone.  
  
"That was why you were acting strangely throughout the past weeks, wasn't it?"   
his lover inquired while she cut the remains of his pants open.  
  
He barely moaned in answer.  
  
"You could have told me," she rebuked him, surprising him with her genuine   
sadness. "I would have understood, and I would have tried to help you," she   
continued earnestly.  
  
Ignoring his injured body, Luke slowly shifted until he could gaze at his   
beautiful companion; her eyes were brimming with tears. Weakly, he brought his   
hand to her own, then gently squeezed it.  
  
*I didn't know how to tell you, my love,* he comforted her, *I didn't even know   
how to explain it to myself,* he then lied slightly.   
  
"Still," she shook her head in understanding, then leaned closer until she was   
gazing straight into his eyes. "You could have trusted me," she commented, her   
heart slightly broken with disappointment. "You can trust me, my love," she   
added, leaning closer and closer until their lips gently touched.  
  
*Don't cut me out again, please,* she sent to him along with a tentative 'link'   
to strengthen their bond.  
  
At first worried, Luke quickly debated what he should do, then decided that he   
could only do one thing: open himself to her once again. But not his whole   
self, he decided as he reinforced his shield around his Jedi self before he   
accepted the new link; he 'fastened' it on the opposite side of the shielded   
area of his mind.  
  
Mara only felt his accepting her; they deepened their kiss.  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, on the bridge of the flagship, Anakin pretended to overlook the   
waiting fleet.   
  
In fact though, he was reflecting on his daughter's words.  
  
They would have to remain dark lords for a while longer, but they would also   
have to retain their Light for the right moment. How would they be able to do   
that, he wondered? Up to now, he had only had to talk like Vader, and stride   
like him, but today, he had had to be as cruel as he used to be... and he had   
felt the darkness grow once again inside of him.  
  
While he hadn't relished the injuries that he had inflicted upon his already   
unconscious son, the last two had been strange.  
  
They had awakened his anger... his dangerous anger.  
  
He knew that Luke was also quick to anger, that it was their weakness and true   
path to the Dark Side. If they had to be Dark Lords for weeks, probably even   
months... how could they keep the anger from eating them up once again, he   
wondered worriedly. What had broken them free of it had been their love for   
Leia, but in Luke's case, it had betrayed him to the Emperor's senses. So, what   
else could be their safety buoy for the next months? he wondered.  
  
The answer for his son was easy of course: Mara.  
  
The youth loved his companion more than anything else in the galaxy, even more   
than freedom sometimes. Given the rest of his son's personality, he knew that   
he wouldn't fall back in the Dark side although, he suddenly remembered, they   
needed her to be away from Luke to gather the information that he could acquire   
for them. Well, he surmised, Luke would still love her.   
  
However, he himself would also need a tool, a trick to keep himself from 'being'   
a darksider--- then, it came to him in a flash of wisdom.  
  
Being at peace, quiet. The very opposite of the Dark Side.  
  
Neither of them had really experienced the well-known Jedi serenity, instead   
being driven right and left by their feelings, Light and dark alike, but if they   
wanted to succeed in their endeavor, he understood, it was time for them to   
start emptying their minds. That way, they wouldn't change anything in their   
actions as 'darksiders', but they wouldn't feed their bad feelings, nor would   
they tap into the DarkSide...  
  
However, he reflected seriously, it would also be better advised for him and   
Luke to cut back on the Force. That way, he knew that they would cause less   
ripples in the Emperor's powerful mediations. While he approached the strategy   
table and began to make changes on it, he made a note to himself to mention his   
discovery to his son as soon as he would be recovered enough to talk with him.  
  
  
  
  
Mara was deeply asleep in the crook of Luke's arm when her master's senses   
roused her awake.  
  
*Report to me immediately, my Hand,* he ordered her, then cut the link.  
  
Although still slightly sleep-confused, Mara understood that he wanted her to   
use the Holonet. Slowly, careful to not wake her resting boyfriend, she slipped   
out of bed, then headed toward the door. She hurried to reach her lover's   
reception device.  
  
The Emperor was already waiting for her.  
  
"Well?" he inquired without anymore preamble.  
  
Mara knelt respectfully, wondering what he was expecting from her, then it   
clicked.  
  
"He is resting at the moment, Master," she told him as coolly as she could.  
  
Inwardly though, she was unhappy to have become a spy on her lover's case.  
  
"What did he tell you?" he asked coldly.  
  
"That he didn't know that he was under his sister's influence, Master," she   
answered deferentially, "and that he would now be wary of his unusual thoughts   
and feelings."  
  
"Did you feel any deceit in him this time."  
  
"No Master," she reassured him. "He strengthened our bond; he is tired, in   
pain, and resolved to not anger you again, Master," she told him, closing her   
eyes to read her boyfriend's mind through the said bond.  
  
"Now that we know what happened, my Hand," the Emperor told her in a chilling   
tone of voice, "you will keep a close eye on him and make sure that the rebel   
pest didn't leave us anymore unwelcome surprises."  
  
"As you wish... Master," she bowed to hide her wince.  
  
The Emperor saw it all the same.  
  
"It is for our safety, his included, Mara Jade," he curtly reminded her. "For   
the moment, he isn't young Vader and won't be until we have ascertained that he   
is clean of any Jedi corruption."  
  
"I understand Master," she nodded.  
  
"But?" he supplied meanly for her.  
  
Mara bit her lip in doubt, then spoke up.  
  
"I don't want to hurt him, Master."  
  
"Then make sure that he is completely back," the Emperor almost sneered, then   
was gone.  
  
Mara hurried to bow her head, then she realized in horror that someone had   
witnessed the end of the transmission.  
  
Luke, dressed in his bath robe, was deathly pale, leaning hard against the door   
frame of their main quarters and was already slipping down to the deck in   
undoubting shock.   
  
Even as she rushed to his help before he had completely faltered, she dimly   
reflected that she now understood why her master had bothered with the holonet.  
He had wanted Luke to hear her orders so that he would know what was the price   
for his lack of total devotion to him: her.  
  
Behind them, the doors opened once again, allowing entrance to another dark Lord   
of the Sith.  
  
  
  
  
Anakin stepped inside his son's quarters--- just in time to see him falter in   
his lover's embrace. He instantly berated himself for his too weakened status,   
then hurried to help the young woman with his half-conscious son.  
  
"Here, let me," he told her even as he took hold of his son's arm and slung it   
over his large shoulders. "Why is he up?"  
  
"Oh now's the time to worry about this, isn't it?" the red-head inquired   
indignantly, surprising him with the sting of her voice. "If you hadn't made   
such a job on him, he would be in better shape."  
  
"I had no choice," was his answer even as he scooped Luke's legs up, then   
brought him back inside his bedroom.   
  
In his arms, Luke remained silent, stricken.  
  
"What happened?" he asked the petite woman who was following them.  
  
"He overheard the Emperor's orders," she answered shortly.  
  
"Which are?" he inquired seriously.   
  
"She spies on me," Luke's broken, weak voice, answered him sadly, forcing both   
him and Mara silent.  
  
They both gazed at him, then at each other.  
  
"I won't Luke," she promised him as they entered the bedroom. "I will make sure   
that you are your true self."  
  
And with that, Anakin understood why his son was so stricken by his expected   
discovery. He was playing a role, but at the same time, he had just become   
aware that his beloved was truly lost to him. She belonged to the Emperor,   
always would.  
  
"And so will I," he himself added as if supporting her pledge. "But first, we   
need to talk," he informed his son with as much warning as he could summon in   
his voice, then gazed up at the red-head. "Alone."  
  
"Don't hurt him again," she instantly warned him in return.  
  
While Luke pretended to be uneasy and tried to get back to his feet and on his   
bed, Anakin held him more tightly to still him; he locked his gaze on their   
third companion.  
  
"I won't, but this is a father/son discussion."   
  
Jade searched his son with her eyes, then sighed and left the room.  
  
Once alone, Anakin finally laid him back on his bed.  
  
"This is getting worse all the time," his son half-whispered, obviously heart-  
broken.  
  
"We knew that it was coming, Son," he reminded him seriously. "And who knows,   
with 'him' out of the way, your love for each other might surprise us all," he   
tried to reassure him.  
  
His son barely shrugged in answer, then flopped back on his back, exhausted.   
  
"While you were resting, I modified some of your orders. I fear that we will be   
forced to return to our first plan."  
  
  
  
  
Making more orphans in the galaxy, Luke understood.   
  
"And also," his father added more solemnly, "we will have to adopt a new pattern   
of thoughts if we don't want to lose what we gained lately while keeping up   
appearances."  
  
"Like?" the youth inquired, perching an eyebrow in confusion.  
  
"Our feelings," his father explained. "We can't let them drive us anymore; we   
have to forego them, to be at peace in our minds when we use the Force, and then   
only when we really have to use it."  
  
Luke slowly, painfully raised himself on his elbows to gape at his father.  
  
"You mean... the Jedi Serenity?" he asked in disbelief.   
  
For as far as he could remember, he and his father had never practiced the well   
known Jedi serenity, despising it to the utmost... until now.  
  
"It is the opposite of the Dark Side," his father answered his thought, "and   
since it will also make us appear will-less once again, the Emperor will leave   
us alone for a while."  
  
Luke took a moment to think, then he tried to sit back up. His father helped   
him up.  
  
"Won't it mark us as Light Jedi when we 'will' use the Force," he asked   
worriedly.  
  
"I thought about that," his father nodded, "I think that if we use the Force as   
we used to do but without the dark feelings, it shouldn't make our Light shine   
in the Force because of the results around us."  
  
"You think?" Luke asked in slight worry.   
  
"I'm not sure," Anakin admitted, "That is why we should really restrain   
ourselves from using the Force. 'That' won't make any difference in the Force."  
  
"And what about Mara?" the younger man queried even as he glanced at the closed   
door. "Do you think that she will feel a difference?" he asked seriously.  
  
His father shook his head in reassurance. "She will see it as devotion to our   
'master'."  
  
Luke wasn't totally convinced, but at the same time, he couldn't think of   
anything else to do.  
  
"I hope you're right, Father," he finally sighed in agreement.  
  
"Me too," his father answered, then brought his hand to his belt.  
  
Puzzled by his movement, Luke tracked the hand with his eyes--- then gaped when   
he saw him produce a small, wooden pendant.  
  
"I didn't tell you last time, Son," he began gently, "but Leia wasn't the only   
one to help me break free... Your mother also helped me," he informed him even   
as he showed him the object he had been hiding.  
  
Luke was speechless at the mention of his mother's ongoing existence; he was   
barely felt his father's hand against his when he rested the pendant in his   
hand. His mother, always unreal and unknown except for what his father had told   
him about her. To him, she had always been little more than a dream... or a   
spirit--- until now.  
  
"This was Mother's?" he finally asked in disbelief as he held for the first time   
an object which was proving that his mother had indeed existed; he wasn't the   
only such proof anymore.  
  
"I made it for her when I met her," his father nodded slightly, then stood up   
and selected a reader on the nearby desk. "Now that it has saved me, she leaves   
it behind for you," he told him as he offered him the reader.  
  
Hesitatingly, unsure of what he was supposed to do, Luke took the reader and   
laid it on his lap, then studied the pendant.  
  
It was simply carved, yet the coloring was intricate. He also noticed that it   
wasn't wood, but another substance--- then he spotted the hinges on its sides.  
Carefully, he tried to open it... and gaped in understanding when he saw the   
small disk which was hidden within the pendant.  
  
He gazed up at his father; Ani nodded at him. Silently, he removed the disk   
from its hiding place and loaded it on his pad--- and dropped it in shock and   
surprise when the hologram of his mother sprung from the reader's surface.   
However, he couldn't tear his eyes off of her.  
  
His mother...  
  
For the first time in his life, he could see his mother.  
  
He barely listened to her message for his father, instead immersing himself in a   
study of her features to commit them to his memory.  
  
She was like Leia, he instantly noticed, then began to register the differences   
between the two women. There weren't that many of them, he finally admitted   
when the message came to an end.   
  
His eyesight was blurred with tears now; his father gently brushed the droplets   
which slid down his cheeks.   
  
"Thank you, Father," he told him gratefully. "I had never seen her before."  
  
"And now, you will see her as often as you want," Anakin told him, surprising   
him with his answer.  
  
"You mean... that I'll keep it?" he asked in disbelief.  
  
His father nodded, then freed the disk from the reader and put it back in the   
pendant.  
  
"As I said, Luke, she left it for you, and she wants you to have it now."  
  
Luke caught his father's words and frowned, then gaped once again as he   
understood exactly what he meant.  
  
"She is with Leia??"  
  
"Yes," his father agreed. "Leia forwarded her request to me yesterday."  
  
Before he could ask more questions about this though, his father stood up, put   
the pendant in the drawer of his desk, then helped him back down on the bed.   
  
"Rest now, Luke," he instructed him. "We are but at the beginning of our   
journey... we will need our strengths to see this through."  
  
Still drained by his false/true punishment, the young Jedi didn't complain; he   
slowly rolled on his side, then fell back asleep before he was once again alone   
in his room.  
  
The thought of his mother watching over him kept him asleep for a long, long   
while.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, Anakin didn't escape his son's quarters before Mara Jade caught up   
with him. Even as the young woman literally prowled on him, he noticed that she   
had foregone her intricate hair-style to instead let her fiery mane down her   
back.  
  
As if, he reflected dimly, she had put an end to her play of courtesan for the   
time being. She was still wearing an elegant gown though; it made her look more   
vulnerable than ever.  
  
"How long have you known that he was like this?" she asked him without preamble,   
as he had expected from the curt woman.  
  
"Not long," he answered shortly, "but I wanted to see if it were temporary... or   
worse."  
  
"Then why, for Force's Sake, did you hurt him this much?"  
  
Anakin nor Vader couldn't think of a justification that would sound reasonable   
to the young assassin's ears.  
  
"Luke told me that he wouldn't listen otherwise," she continued vehemently, "but   
still, you didn't---"  
  
He interrupted her. "And that's exactly what happened, Jade," he answered with   
a half-growl, silently thanking his son for thinking of an alibi for them. "I   
tried to reason with him, but he wouldn't listen to me; he kept saying that he   
was perfectly all right, that nothing had changed, then he used the Force and I   
knew."  
  
"Knew what?" his son's lover inquired worriedly.   
  
"Somehow, Leia's spirit was taking over Luke's mind," he lied, then let a   
silence of regret hang between himself and Jade.  
  
Finally, when the young woman had stared long enough at him to believe him, he   
continued.  
  
"Whatever she did to him upon her death, I knew that I had no choice but to wake   
'him' up... to make him reconsider his latest actions, and the Emperor had told   
me to punish him for his Jedi-like ideas. I had no choice," he finally   
apologized to the girl, then reached out and did the same with his son's   
subconscious.  
  
Naturally, Luke didn't hold any grudge against him, but despite his   
explanations, his lover still did. However, he realized, her resent was not   
directed toward his physical injuries anymore.  
  
"You should never have brought that rebel with us," the assassin finally   
commented in disgust.  
  
Anakin, who knew that his daughter had managed to pull a friendship from the   
cold girl, was surprised by her new reasoning... then he belatedly understood   
that it was her way to find someone responsible for her boyfriend's trauma.  
  
She couldn't really hold their 'master' responsible, now, could she?, he   
silently sneered in disgust.  
  
He decided to force her to face that truth.  
  
"Perhaps," he shrugged, "but I would have liked to see you try to keep Luke from   
taking her home," he reminded her seriously.  
  
She had been with them when Luke had returned from his mission with his sister.   
He knew that she knew just how stubborn Luke had been to redeem his sister, to   
welcome her in the family. When she winced slightly, he understood that she   
knew this even more than he himself did.   
  
"Had I known," she finally sighed in resignation, "I would have argued more   
strongly with him," she finished glumly.  
  
"What is important now, Jade," he reminded her, still maintaining the illusion   
of being Darth Vader, "is that it doesn't happen again. Luke must not give into   
his feelings for enemies again."  
  
"Oh I promise that he won't," the red-head answered, her eyelids lowering on her   
eyes until they were mere slits which betrayed her sudden focus. "or I will be   
the first one to catch him... and convince him to listen to us."  
  
While he nodded in mock-agreement, he reflected that a close watch from Jade's   
part would make it touchy for his son to hide his Jedi nature, but he also knew   
that it would be the best mean at their disposal to convince the Emperor that   
everything was back to normal.  
  
Besides, he tried to reassure himself, his son had been trained for long-term   
cover-ups and his shields were stronger than even his own were. Now that they   
knew what to dampen, they would both be safe until they could finally free   
themselves from the Emperor.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Two days after Darth Vader's arrival and the sudden quarantine of young Lord and   
Lady Vader, things went back to normal for the troops aboard the Annihilator.  
Their first commander resumed his duties, not giving them a single clue as to   
what had happened during his two missing days; meanwhile, Lord Vader returned to   
his own flagship.  
  
The whole fleet was now headed for planets where rebel activity was still   
rampant. For the crew of the Annihilator, it meant a change of plan regarding   
their month-long transition in hyperspace; none of them complained about the   
upcoming operations. From the commanding officers to the regular trooper,   
everyone was delighted to escape the boredom of hyperspace.  
  
And Luke knew it.  
  
  
  
  
As he listened to his Lieutenant's report about the planet that was now his new   
target, Luke studied his subordinates. They were almost all eager to kill, he   
reflected sadly. They seemed ready to board their landing ships and pounce on   
the area of the city where outlaw elements had reported the presence of rebel   
sympathizers.   
  
None of those men cared about the victims who would be left behind in the wake   
of their attack; they only cared about their own prestige, fame, and the   
illusion of power which they would experience as they would crush other fellow   
living beings. He slowly turned his cool focus on Admiral Piett as the man   
suggested how they could position the fleet to keep an eye on the escape   
corridors.  
  
He himself continued his thoughts.   
  
He knew everything there was to know about imperial conditioning, of course.   
  
He knew about the training to hate aliens and to consider them inferior to human   
beings, but unfortunately, he could see, by the gleam of their eyes, that most   
men who were standing around him at the moment hadn't needed training to believe   
that. They were chauvinist by nature, except for Piett who was one of the rare   
conscript to ever rise to a commanding status. He didn't like to kill, but he   
was well trained... like his 'commanding officer', Luke pouted inwardly.  
  
"As such, my Lord," Piett finished respectfully, "we will be able to intercept   
any ship that leaves the surface before, during, and after the operation."  
  
And with that, Luke knew that he had to orchestrate the attack. Now that his   
officers had presented their tactics to him, he had to make decisions so that   
the attack would proceed without an hitch. Silently, he asked for forgiveness   
for what he was about to do, then assumed his dark personality.  
  
He stepped closer to the display table, then keyed in some commands.  
  
The Fleet's chrono adjusted itself to -0200.  
  
"Two hours before the fleet comes out of hyperspace, General Veers' troops will   
land in the outskirts of the city and make their way unseen into it."  
  
A green dot which represented a shielded troop carrier made its way toward the   
surface of the planet; Luke noticed how Veers barely restrained himself from   
smirking in satisfaction.  
  
"Make sure they remain uncovered until the time comes to strike, General," he   
advised him coolly.  
  
"With pleasure, my Lord," the other bowed.  
  
Luke continued to simulate the operation.  
  
"At 00h00, the Fleet will position itself in 'and' out of sensor range of the   
planet, then, the TIE fighters will attack the targeted area."  
  
Now it was Piett's and Barek's turn to be content that their plans had gotten   
their lord's attention.  
  
"Then at 00h30, the AT-Ats will be sent in to help the round-up of prisoners and   
to patrol the occupied area. I want the leaders and the children up to sixteen   
of age to be captured alive," he ordered, keeping his voice cold although he   
mentally felt it constrict in horror at himself. "The others are expandable for   
the mines of Kessel. The children will be gathered at the rendezvous point for   
immediate transfer to the imperial orphanage in the city of Lasgow on the other   
continent. The leaders are to be immediately brought aboard the Annihilator for   
interrogation."  
  
The five men around him nodded in understanding, then bowed their heads to him   
and left to prepare for their part of the operation.  
  
While Luke watched them leave, his heart constricted in hidden compassion for   
his soon-to-be victims. He dimly reflected that he couldn't wait to retire to   
his own quarters and shed his heavy cloak, both spiritually 'and' physically.   
  
Whereas his leather uniforms didn't add too much torment on his still healing   
marks, the weight of his cloak was taking its toll on his shoulders. They were   
getting more painful with each passing moment, much like his soul was already   
burning raw at the thought of what he had just done.  
  
Then a delicate, feather-like hand barely rested on his left shoulder, drawing   
his attention to the present. Now that his meeting was finished, Mara had come   
closer to him.   
  
"Where will you be during the operation, my Lord?" she asked him gently.  
  
"I will stay aboard," he answered shortly before he took her hand in his and   
gallantly held it in his hand.   
  
*Good idea,* his girlfriend observed through the Force.  
  
*I know; I will be more efficient here than on the ground anyway,* he answered,   
then said out loud: "We still have a few hours before the beginning of the   
operation though."  
  
"I am your servant, my Lord," his lady answered softly, then accepted his elbow   
as he turned slightly away from her to leave.  
  
As he made his way toward the nearest exit, he left orders to be summoned at   
minus 03h00, then they were gone.  
  
  
  
  
Once in their quarters though, he didn't engage in any activities with his   
friend; he slipped out of his clothes, then laid on his stomach and entered a   
new healing trance.  
  
In a few hours, he would have to keep a cruel front; he needed to be in better   
shape to pull it off.  
  
Beside him, Mara helped him with his healing.  
  
  
  
  
TBC in part 7: Illusions  
  
  
SJ: Skyjade@globetrotter.net (any positive stuff is welcome, but negative or   
mean comments will be thrown down the Sarlacc's throat without being read.) 


	32. Redemption 7: Illusions

Redemption  
Part 7: Illusions  
By SJ 12-23-01/05-02 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
  
Almost three weeks after his 'discipline', Luke was still holding up even though   
he was responsible for atrocities. He and his father were still laying dormant,   
aware that it wasn't time to strike yet.  
  
  
  
That night, as it happened every night after an operation, a nightmare came to   
him.  
  
He was not aboard his ship, but in the small town which they had cowardly   
attacked earlier that day, witnessing everything that distance had kept him from   
seeing during the day. He walked down the main street of the small town,   
dressed in his usual uniform, except for one detail which appeared in all his   
dreams: his uniform was pure white, but was smothered under the blackness of his   
cloak.   
  
Houses were burning all around him; some rebels, and not so rebels, were   
defending their families' lives with hand-held blasters or captured imperial   
weapons, but foremost in his mind, there were human and alien victims wherever   
he laid his eyes. The cries of parents mourning their children, of children   
mourning their parents, rose from all around him, suffocating him with their   
emotional pain and sorrow.  
  
Then, unlike the other nights, his nightmare continued.   
  
Stormtroopers plowed down the streets once again, gathering the survivors of the   
battle and roughly handled them until they could be herded into their respective   
transports. Luke tried to close his eyes as he witnessed the horrors and   
violence that his troops had brought upon their prisoners, but he wasn't in the   
physical realm; his eyelids didn't keep him from seeing everything...  
  
Then the streets were once again quiet, the imperial storm gone, leaving behind   
nothing but havoc and death. As Luke dejectedly gazed around himself, he   
noticed an hazy shape at the end of the street, a black-bloated cloud... from   
which came the Emperor's sickening cackle of pleasure.  
  
Oh yes, he reflected sadly, he had satisfied the despot once again... but at   
what cost for his soul, he asked himself as he turned away from the darkness.   
Even though he didn't condone what he was responsible for, he still did those   
things, he reminded himself. He had killed too many innocents to ever forgive   
himself.  
  
"I'm so sorry," he whispered in regret as he lowered his chin to his upper   
chest, his head too heavy with guilt to hold it upright.  
  
How long would he have to commit such atrocities, he asked no one, or perhaps   
his sister, he admitted.   
  
"It was not your fault, Luke Skywalker," a new, unknown voice answered him   
gently.  
  
Startled, he raised his head once again--- and gaped as he identified the source   
of the voice as being one of his dead victim whom had now risen from the dead,   
unmarked by the horrors of the late battle. Barely registering these facts,   
Luke gazed around himself--- and saw that all the beings who had been dead just   
seconds ago were once again alive and gathering around him. Unlike what he   
expected though, they didn't scorn at him, nor did they attack him; instead,   
they smiled gently at him, nodding as if in comprehension.  
  
"You are not responsible for what happened here, nor anywhere else, young Jedi,"   
a woman commented when he gazed at her.  
  
"He is," a child added, pointing his finger at the dark cloud which was still   
hovering malevolently above them.  
  
For a moment, Luke feared that he had been uncovered, but before he could act on   
that fear, another man spoke.  
  
"He doesn't see past your cloak, Jedi of the Light, nor does his servants."  
  
"In time, you will fulfill your destiny," a young woman who reminded him of Leia   
continued gently.  
  
"But after how many lives have been savagely taken?" he inquired in despair.   
  
"Sadly," an older man, whom Luke recognized as one of the leaders who had been   
killed during the attack, "a battle can't be won without sacrifices, Jedi   
Skywalker, but once we are past this difficult moment, we know that you will   
make the loss of our mortal lives worthwhile."  
  
"No," Luke argued slightly, "no life will ever replace the ones I took through   
my army. You can't forgive me."  
  
"But we do, Luke Skywalker," a young teenager told him gently. "We all do, us,   
and the others who left this life before us."  
  
Luke felt himself reel in disbelief; how could they forgive him when he couldn't   
forgive himself?.. Didn't they realize that he had made them suffer uselessly?  
  
"We have but two demands to rest in peace," an older lady cut in his thoughts,   
stepping forward from the group until she was standing right in front of him.  
  
Luke understood that she was a strong spirit, one who would speak on the others'   
behalf now.  
  
"I will do everything I can, even give my own life if I have to," he promised   
solemnly.  
  
"That is where you are wrong, Jedi Skywalker," she slightly rebuked him. "You   
must 'not' die; you must promise to keep hope and see this through, then go on   
until you join us of natural causes."  
  
Luke was stricken, but he nodded anyway.  
  
"You must also promise us to look after our children and families," the woman   
continued seriously. "They are in your hands now; in time, you will have the   
power to set them free."  
  
"I give you my word that they will be safe," he promised them--- then he was   
once again alone in the now completely empty street.  
  
In the distance, the cackling Emperor continued to oversee the now beaten city.  
Luke locked his gaze on him for a few seconds, then he turned away---  
  
And woke up.  
  
Ever since he had been hurt, he had taken the habit to sleep on his stomach;   
Mara was slightly under him, content to lay under his left arm, slightly pressed   
against his warm skin.  
  
Mara, he thought with a wince of sadness in his heart. Things weren't the same   
between them since he had discovered the truth of her servitude with their   
master. Of course, he conceded that their distance was more than realistic-  
looking after what he had heard, but at the same time, it wasn't solely due to   
that. When his father had told him to dampen his use of the Force, he had had a   
flash of himself loving Mara. At first, he hadn't understood it, but the more   
time passed, and the more it had become obvious to him that his love for Mara   
could make him reveal his Light just as easily as if he were using the Force.  
  
Hence, he had reluctantly applied his cool attitude with her too, but it wasn't   
easy. Sometimes, he did slip back in his old persona, to simply compliment her   
ever-gorgeous figure, but also to show her that their love wasn't completely   
dead either. He still had hope that once this mess they were in would be over,   
she too would realize that she was a good person. However, with the Emperor   
around, he didn't even entertain any hopes to breach through to her.  
  
He pulled her slightly closer to himself, dimly reflecting that he had to be   
suicidal to sleep with his worst enemy... but she was also his best friend and   
lover. It was all so complicated, he sighed silently, careful to not wake her   
up. Dimly, he wondered if it would have been any easier if he had lived in the   
other life that his sister had shown to him.  
  
He would never know, he admitted, and it didn't really matter. The only thing   
that did matter, he reminded himself as he closed his eyes once again and tried   
to catch up on his sleep, was to survive while he had to, then use his gifts for   
the good of the galaxy.  
  
He drifted back into sleep on that secret thought.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Five days later, Luke was as busy as ever, leading meeting after meeting with   
his different officers to discuss new strategies to use in their upcoming   
operations.  
  
While her lover had never used his men this much before his discipline, Mara had   
to admit that he was more efficient that way. He had training and experience as   
an agent, but his officers had the experience of leading troops and groups of   
ships.   
  
What slightly miffed her about this though was that in her guise of Lady Vader,   
she couldn't assist to those meetings. Instead, she was left to herself for   
hours on end. At first, she split her free time between the ship and their   
quarters, to keep up appearances, but as the occasional meetings became routine,   
she lessened her time outside their quarters until she wasn't going out unless   
Luke was with her. She was tired to parade around when she could train and   
prepare for her undoubtedly upcoming mission.  
  
She knew that the Emperor was now mostly reassured about her boyfriend; when he   
wouldn't have any doubts anymore, she had no doubts that he would send her on a   
new mission, she could feel it. What she wondered though was what her master   
was still feeling as doubtful in Luke. She had probed him times and times   
again, and she never found any incriminating thoughts or feelings.  
  
Instead, he was cool, focused on his duty to the Emperor... a little too much   
sometimes for her taste, but she could do with it. If their being less intimate   
was what Luke needed to return in the Emperor's grace, she thought to herself as   
she lunged away from her practice droid's attack, then so be it.  
  
The droid was right on her heels again.  
  
She whirled on her heel, scored another ten points with her roundhouse kick,   
then an extra fifteen with a heel judiciously placed at the apex of its legs.  
Unlike a human of course, the droid didn't stop for that, but she only needed to   
score another twenty points to deactivate it... and break a new record.  
  
She flipped backward and away from his sweeping leg, then jumped back to her   
feet--- and Forcefully-pulled her blaster from her wrist-holster before she shot   
the robot with a low-powered bolt in the head. As expected, the droid shut   
down, putting an end to her practice session.  
  
She checked her chrono, and smiled. Three minutes and twenty-three seconds.  
She had indeed broken her record this time.  
  
"This calls for a celebration," Luke's voice commented from behind her.  
  
She whirled around, surprised to have been caught off-guard by him. He was   
leaning sideways against the door frame, his arms crossed over his leather-  
covered chest. If not for the ever-ominous appearance of his cloak, she   
reflected that he would look almost relaxed and boyish. She crossed her arms   
over her own chest, as if miffed by his suggestion.  
  
"And why not try to break that record instead, my Lord," she teased him.  
  
He winced slightly at that, then straightened.  
  
"You'll forgive me if I pass this time," he answered as he walked inside the   
room until he was standing right in front of her.  
  
"Later then," she nodded while she silently berated herself for not remembering   
that he still wasn't up for any unnecessary exercise.  
  
While most of his superficial cuts had healed almost completely, his right   
wrist, knee and hip were another matter. His father had cut him more deeply   
there; Luke constantly had to strain to hide his remaining limp and stiffness.  
It was less painful than two weeks ago of course, but she could see that he   
wasn't healed yet; she could still detect a slight lack of balance whenever he   
rested on his right leg, and his right arm was more still than his left one was.  
  
"How long have you been watching," she asked him to change the subject.  
  
"Since you scored forty," he answered softly. "It truly was impressive, Mara,"   
he then told her seriously.  
  
"Thanks," she nodded as she leaned closer to him, drawn despite herself to his   
handsome features. "I guess I must be more stir-crazy than I thought I was,"   
she commented lightly.  
  
Luke accepted her silent offer; he also leaned closer. "Wonder what we could do   
to shoo away your boredom," he half-whispered even as they closed in for a sweet   
kiss.  
  
The moment that his lips touched hers, she melted against him, wrapping her arms   
around his neck even as his arms snaked around her small, lightly clothed body--  
- then his comlink went off.   
  
They both reluctantly pulled away, exchanged a disappointed glance, then Luke   
pulled his comlink from his belt and turned it on.  
  
"What is it?" he inquired seriously.  
  
While he listened to Piett's explanation, Mara tried to recover from the   
interrupted moment of passion. She was still tingling from his touch, his   
passion. It had been almost a week now since the last time that they had found   
some free time for the two of them, real free time. She could feel that, had   
they not been interrupted, it wouldn't have been a mere kiss this time; it would   
have led to hot, searing embraces for which she was downright yearning for. She   
knew that this kind of craving wasn't exactly what neither she nor Luke had been   
trained to accept in their lives, but with Luke, it was different.  
  
It felt right, wonderful... and their bond was like it used to be while they   
made love. Not the bleak, barely alive bond that they were now sharing, thanks   
to his sister's attempt to overcome him... Luke's hand rested on her shoulder,   
gently drawing her out of her thoughts.  
  
"Mara, are you all right?" he asked her solicitously.   
  
"Yes, I was just thinking," she answered truthfully. "So what is going on?"  
  
"A sudden report of a new base less than an hour away from here," he informed   
her grimly. "We'll continue this later, okay?"  
  
"Promised?" she asked, then caught herself and frowned slightly.  
  
By the gods was she that desperate now?, she berated herself.  
  
"I give you my word," her lover whispered lustfully, kissed her once again on   
the lips, a long, sweet kiss, then he turned away and exited the training room.  
  
Mara remained where she was standing and slowly brought her fingers to her lips,   
tracing them as if to recreate the feeling of his mouth against hers. There was   
no way around it, she resignedly admitted to herself, she still simply loved him   
with all her heart, and her heart solely existed for him.  
  
*Mara Jade,* the Emperor's voice suddenly cut in her thoughts, then remained   
there.  
  
She knelt where she stood, then respectfully bowed her head.  
  
*What is thy bidding, Master?*  
  
  
  
  
Parsecs away, on Coruscant, the Emperor used his link with his best remaining   
assassin to study her. She was tired to babysit young Vader, yet she wanted to   
be with him, truly with him. Slightly worried that his keeping her with the   
youth for this long had woken up disturbing feelings in her, he scanned deeper,   
and found out that his discipline on the youth had taught her to crush her own   
heart... although her love for young Vader would always remain.  
  
Thanks to his own, perhaps ill-advised plan to allow the two youths to be   
together, he sneered in disgust, conveniently forgetting the past results of the   
couple to focus on his 'new' plans. However, he decided that as long as Jade   
didn't have feelings for anyone but the boy, he would let her be; she was too   
good an element to discipline her too much... for the moment.  
  
Next, he checked her memories to see if she had noticed any strange things about   
the youth; what he discovered greatly pleased him. At last, he was truly   
gaining control over the boy, even more than what he had ever managed before   
when he had overcome him while his sister had been alive.  
  
Satisfied with his discovery, he addressed the obedient young woman.  
  
*How is our young Lord Vader these days?* he inquired coolly.  
  
*Efficient, Master,* she answered him. *He calls on the expertise of his   
officers, he takes the less costly and most efficient tactics, and he feels less   
and less... of anything,* she finished with a small note of regret.  
  
So he had been informed well and the two youths were growing less passionate   
with each passing day. His strategy had worked then; it pleased him. He had no   
use for the bond between the youths anymore; he now had other plans for the two   
of them, mostly for the boy's services to him. He made a note to separate them   
soon, but not just yet.   
  
The youth was obviously in his grasp once again, and content to be there, but   
just to be sure, he would leave his Hand with him for a short while longer, then   
he would set his new plan in motion.  
  
*Good,* he commented to his obedient servant. *I don't have any other mission   
for you for the moment, my Hand, but I shall soon. Be ready to resume your   
other duties,* he advised her coolly, aware that she had lounged around a lot,   
foregoing her rigorous training for a while. But not anymore. It was time to   
resume where they had left off before that unpleasant accident with the spirit   
of the rebel princess.  
  
He cut off his link with the red-head, then sent an order to his other agents to   
intensify their surveillance of the other youth. If he were to leave him   
'alone', he wanted to be sure that the danger or a returning Jedi was well and   
truly eradicated.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
It was now a month and a few days after the second, most unpleasant day in the   
life of Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker.   
  
Like all the other days since Luke's 'discipline', he was overseeing the patrol   
operation concerning a convoy which had stumbled in one of their hyperspace   
trap. Since the convoy had tried to escape them, they were now being   
investigated from bow to stern and outer hull to outer hull.  
  
Whereas he had first taken part to those operations, Ani had slowly withdrawn   
from them to let his officers deal with their prisoners. He himself couldn't   
see anymore misery which he was still responsible for.   
  
As he gazed at the inoffensive-looking Corellian frigate which was now berthed   
in the main hangar bay of the Executor, he dimly wondered how his son was   
holding up. He hadn't heard from him for a month now, as if he were upset with   
him, he reflected sadly. However, he reminded himself, he knew that he wasn't.   
Instead, he suspected that it was yet another way to keep up appearances. He   
could only agree with him, he reflected sadly. Considering the reports of his   
son's operations, he knew that he was fooling everyone around him... He didn't   
want to risk his cover-up with something as 'trivial' as a conversation between   
them, he decided.  
  
However, given what he himself had read in the reports, he suspected that his   
son's soul was undoubtedly even heavier with sorrow than his own was.  
  
Quiet footsteps cut in his thoughts, informing him that his admiral was now   
standing at attention behind him.  
  
"Yes, Admiral," he inquired without turning around.  
  
"My Lord, Lord Vader's shuttle has entered our sensor range just moments ago.   
It will land in the hangar seven-two-five-three."  
  
While Anakin was extremely surprised by this information, he didn't give any   
sign that the upcoming arrival of his son was not expected. He slowly turned   
around until he could stare down at the aging man.  
  
"I leave the rest of the procedures in your hands, Admiral."  
  
Then, as the other bowed in obedience, he left his observation station and   
headed toward his son's chosen landing bay.  
  
  
  
He was just in time to witness the final procedures. Behind him, the two squads   
that he had managed to gather formed a row of honor. Then, the ship's hatch   
opened and his son came down the ramp.  
  
Unlike the last time that he had seen in such a context, he wasn't grim nor   
frowning. Instead, he was the perfect example of a cool head and attitude.  
  
"Father," he bowed, his voice neutral.  
  
"Welcome, Son," he answered back, then turned around to leave the hangar bay.  
  
His son followed silently.  
  
"Your coming here is quite unexpected," Anakin commented in his best imitation   
of Vader.  
  
"But necessary. I have uncovered troubling information about a regrouping   
Rebellion," the youth explained seriously, his eyes still locked in front of   
him.  
  
"Again?"  
  
Luke only nodded in answer, then flashed him an upward glance which carried his   
deeply hidden sorrow. They were causing this, he understood, yet they couldn't   
do a single thing about it... for the moment.  
  
"We are currently leading an operation, Father," he added, like the good servant   
that he was now supposed to be. "I have the feeling that this can wait for a   
short while until our duty is finished."  
  
Anakin dismissed his comment. "We were already mostly done with it; your own   
teams are cleaning up and Admiral Ozzel is overseeing its completion here.   
Come," he invited him.  
  
His son followed in silence... all the way to his quarters in which they sealed   
themselves.  
  
Once there, he hurried to warn his son to be silent, then reached out and   
scanned his quarters. As he had expected, new bugs had found their way in   
them. Using the Force, he ripped them away from the walls and floor, then   
gathered them into his right hand where he crushed them before proceeding toward   
his inner quarters.  
  
Behind him, his son gaped as he repeated the operation in all his quarters until   
he was sure that they were safe now.  
  
  
  
  
"Doesn't the Emperor mind your finding them?" Luke finally inquired as they sat   
in his father's office where they would be able to discuss tactics.  
  
Anakin shook his head in reassurance. "It's like a game for him," he explained   
seriously. "If I find them, then I'm not an easy target and he likes that."  
  
"Then," the young Jedi observed seriously, "I'll start scanning my own quarters   
too," he commented.  
  
"Why?" his father inquired, leaning forward in his chair in worry.  
  
Luke sighed in both relief and sorrow. He would miss her... yet he would   
finally be free to spy on the Emperor.  
  
"The Emperor has called Mara back into service. She will leave in two days...   
and we don't know if she will return after that or not. I figure that if he   
doesn't have her 'insight' anymore, he'll resort to bugs..."  
  
"Indeed," his father agreed with him. "it's quite possible."  
  
"I can't take any chances with him anyway," the youth commented seriously,   
"especially since I will begin to prepare our attack," he added grimly.  
  
"Do you know how you will proceed?" his father inquired with interest, leaning   
back in his chair.  
  
"I will gather information," Luke began, recovering his edge of when he had been   
an agent, something he now realized he had lost in commanding duties. "I will   
'strike' during the night, once we are done with the attacks. My troops are   
used to see me get full nights of sleep; they will never suspect that I'm not in   
my quarters," he explained, determinate.  
  
"Unless they notice that a ship is missing," his father pointed out seriously.  
  
Luke answered him with a grim smirk, one of his first in nearly a month as he   
let go of his rigid self-control. "They won't, don't worry," he reassured him.  
"I might look like nothing more than a fleet commander," he then added   
teasingly, "but I trained when Mara was asleep; I'm still a spy and assassin."  
  
"It would sure be a shame for you to lose those when we need them," his father   
answered seriously.   
  
  
  
  
"Exactly," his son nodded. "What about you, Father? Have you been able to work   
on our plan?"  
  
"Not much," he admitted. "but I did begin to read the books about the Dark   
Side. So far, I haven't found anything new. I just read, then tried to forget   
what wasn't necessary."  
  
"I know what you mean," his son agreed with him. "I don't want to remember   
those either. Every day," he continued more sadly, "I do what I have to do to   
survive, then work double time to forget it and move on... but this is so   
awful...," he winced, lowering his head in shame.  
  
"Yes," Anakin nodded, standing up to step around his desk; he rested his hand on   
his son's shoulder. "How are you holding up?" he inquired worriedly.  
  
"Probably as well as you are, Father," he answered, slowly locking his eyes on   
his shielded ones. "I also have nightmares... dreams that show me what happened   
because of me, but the spirits of the dead ones always forgive me... the true   
me."  
  
"But you don't forgive yourself, do you?" he asked, slowly sitting on the edge   
of his desk.  
  
Luke followed him with his eyes, then barely shook his head.   
  
"I can't," he finally commented seriously. "If I do, then it will mean that I   
accept evil as necessary, as unavoidable... as inconsequential," he finished in   
disgust. "I can't do this to the memories of all those innocents."  
  
"But eventually," his father answered gently, "you will have to give up your   
guilt, as they ask us to do."  
  
  
  
  
Luke, who had been lowering his head, suddenly raised it again and stared at his   
father.  
  
"You have those too?" he asked in confusion.  
  
"Every night," Anakin nodded sadly. "All night long, about the present... and   
the past."  
  
Luke, who meant to add something, fell silent as he understood that his father   
was facing his whole life.  
  
"At first," the older man explained softly, "I resented them, I didn't want to   
face those visions, but then, when I stopped to fight against them, I discovered   
that they were meant to heal my soul."  
  
Luke was still silent, attentive to his father's wisdom.  
  
"It's not easy," Anakin commented with a shrug of his shoulders, "but slowly, I   
am overcoming my guilt."  
  
"To lay it on the Emperor's shoulders?" the youth inquired as he remembered his   
own dreams. "I can't---"  
  
"No, it is still on my shoulders," his father explained gently, comfortingly,   
"but it is in the past, and could I return in time, I wouldn't repeat it."  
  
True, Luke conceded, he wouldn't either, but he wished that he didn't have to   
hurt more people as of now. Before he could comment anything though, a soft   
glow appeared on their left until his sister was once again beside them.   
  
He hadn't seen her for a long while now, he thought, bitter-sweet.  
  
"Listen to Father, Luke," she entreated him softly, "everything is proceeding as   
it must for the two of you to fulfill your destinies. If you hang onto your   
guilt, you will remain vulnerable to the Dark Side... and the Emperor."  
  
"But it is so hard to bear the weight of those deaths and tormented souls," he   
argued, jumping to his feet to face his sister. "Leia, I don't know how long   
I'll be able to keep up this charade of cruelty."  
  
"It won't be long anymore, Luke," she reassured him, "but you must hold on; only   
then, will you be able to make sure that it doesn't happen again."  
  
  
  
  
  
"He is right though," Anakin observed seriously as he too stood from his seat to   
stand beside his son. "How much more torment will be necessary before we can   
put an end to it."  
  
His daughter closed her eyes, seemed to listen to something, then she re-opened   
them and gazed at them once again.  
  
"After the next attack, on Bizan, there will be a new time of peace during which   
you will have time to prepare yourselves. Then, a new sacrifice will be needed,   
from one of you," she finished sadly. "Only then, will you be able to take   
advantage of the end of the conflict and free the whole galaxy."  
  
As always, Anakin noticed that Leia didn't give them any straight answers, but   
up to now, their actions had always brought about what she had told him... or   
Luke. But that sacrifice thing, Ani thought with dread... He didn't like it one   
tiny bit, especially since he had the feeling that it would be needed from Luke   
once again.  
  
"Can you tell us about the Emperor's powers?" he asked her seriously.  
  
She slightly shook her head. "I'm afraid that he is completely closed-off from   
the Light side of the Force, Father. I can't find a link to his soul."  
  
"Well, it was worth the try," Luke commented as he began to pace the small area   
beside the desk. "What about Mara, Leia. Can you feel her?"  
  
His sister took a moment to focus, then answered him: "she is very diffuse,   
Luke... Her only link to us is her love for you."  
  
Then there was hope, Ani surmised even as his son closed his eyes in relief.   
  
"So if we summarize," his son began, business-like this time, "we have to strike   
yet another decisive blow on mostly innocents, then it will be up to us to take   
advantage of the resulting quietness to both gather information and set our   
strategy up."  
  
"And Luke will do most of the work since he can disappear whereas I can't really   
do so..." Ani admitted reluctantly.  
  
"But your knowledge of the Force is greater than mine, Father," his son reminded   
him. "We will need it when the time will come to strike."  
  
"And the Emperor doesn't suspect you at all, Father," Leia reminded him softly.   
"However, he still keeps an eye on Luke."  
  
"Point taken," he nodded at his children. "So I guess the only thing that   
remains is to get to work," he commented seriously.   
  
"The Force will be With You," Leia said gently, then she was gone once again.  
  
"I miss you," he heard Luke whisper, then saw him hunch his shoulders.  
  
Aware of his sorrow, he stepped closer to him, then gently hugged him in   
comfort.   
  
"She knows it, Luke," he reassured him. "Her time with us is short, but she is   
always with us, and she knows our every thought. I'm sure that she misses you   
too."  
  
Luke didn't answer this; instead, he welcomed his embrace, leaning into it as he   
used to do as a child.   
  
"I'm so tired to fight for our souls, Father," he said almost too low for him to   
hear him. "I'm tired to lie to Mara and fear the Emperor..."  
  
"Then what are we waiting for?" Ani commented, sending him feelings of   
confidence and strength.  
  
They would see this through, he promised both himself and his son. Naturally,   
Luke returned his promise.  
  
  
  
  
In the realm of the Force, Leia and Padme watched their two family members as   
they set to work on their double plan.  
  
They couldn't help but shiver in horror as they came up with a strategy to crush   
the 'rebellion', but they smiled in pride when they begun to discuss their   
other, more important plan.  
  
"I wish that I could tell them everything," Leia commented seriously.  
  
"But you wouldn't help them that way," her mother told her wisely. "Sometimes,   
knowing the future isn't the best option available."  
  
She for one knew that she would have tried to redeem Anakin, but it wouldn't   
have bought her any time; worse, she conceded that she might have ended up in   
the Emperor's claws with him... and their children. Had they been raised in the   
Dark Side, she knew that the galaxy wouldn't be on the brink of freedom at the   
moment. It would be on the brink of the darkest night that they had ever known.  
But it wasn't the case, she reminded herself.  
  
Her dear Ani, the man with whom she had fallen in love, had survived his years   
of anger and lust for power, and now, with the help of their clever, surprising   
son, they would both accomplish what the whole Jedi Order hadn't been able to do   
way back when.  
  
Perhaps because they hadn't seen the danger until too late, or perhaps because   
they hadn't been through the fire, she now knew that they hadn't stood a chance   
against Darth Vader and his Emperor. As thus, a dark time had fallen all over   
the galaxy... a darkness that had almost eaten even her own son, but in the end,   
like his father, he had survived the horrible challenge, and had emerged   
stronger from his years of servitude since he now held keys that would allow him   
and his father to succeed in their plan.  
  
Without the much hated training of her son, Padme had to concede that they   
wouldn't stand a chance against the dark Jedi and his army. The Jedis had been   
right, she admitted. Her son was indeed the key of the future.  
  
A much brighter future, for them all.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
TBC in part 8: Second try  
  
SJ: Skyjade@globetrotter.net (any positive stuff is welcome, but negative or   
mean comments will be thrown down the Sarlacc's throat without being read.) 


	33. Redemption 8: Second Try

Redemption  
Part 8: Second Try  
By SJ 12-23-01/23-03-02 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
As he read the official and unofficial reports from his different servants about   
the attack on Bizan, Palpatine couldn't help but cackle in victory and dark   
satisfaction.  
  
Not only was the rebel infestation eradicated once again, but he had just been   
given the perfect proof that everything was back to normal with his youngest   
dark lord. His and his father's fleet had leveled the base from space,   
concentrating the fire power of their twenty ships on the area of the Rebel   
base.  
  
Nothing had survived for miles around it.  
  
Of course, he snorted, it could not compare to his defunct Death Star, but the   
results were still the same: he was ruling unchallenged once again. He still   
didn't know if the Vaders had known which effect their attack would have on the   
galaxy, but he couldn't have asked for better ones. Everywhere, people were   
stricken with fear and vowed allegiance to him to avoid what had happened on   
Bizan.  
  
"Ryel," he called his aid, "Establish contact with our avengers. I wish to   
speak to both of them at the same time," he informed the bowing man.  
  
"Yes, Master," the other answered, then scuttled away to pass on his request to   
his far away servants.  
  
Life was once again perfect, he sighed in contentment and bliss.  
  
  
  
  
In the outer rim, Luke joined his father on his flagship to answer the Emperor's   
request. They both knelt respectfully at the ruler's feet, both suppressing   
their feelings of disgust at what they had done for the fiend.  
  
"Rise, my friends," their master told them magnanimously. "You have done well,   
both of you."  
  
"Thank you, Master," both Skywalkers answered coolly.   
  
"Now that the galaxy is mine again, we won't need the both of you on the front   
line."  
  
Luke exchanged a quick glance with his father, then stepped slightly forward.   
  
"With your permission, Master, I will stay with the Fleet and keep an eye on   
your Empire. I don't want to repeat the experience of a few months ago."  
  
The Emperor nodded, although somewhat reluctantly, he noticed.   
  
"Granted," he finally said, then turned his focus on the older man: "You will   
come to Coruscant to take part to the festivities, Lord Vader."  
  
"Yes, Master," Anakin bowed instantly.   
  
"This is a magnificent day for the Dark Side, my friends," the evil ruler   
cackled at them. "From now on, no one will ever challenge us again."  
  
Luke forced himself to assume an satisfied expression while his father nodded in   
agreement.  
  
"Never ever, Master," the youth also answered as if he were truly serving the   
despot.  
  
While the Emperor cackled even more, he felt his father's physical eyes slide   
toward him before they refocused forward. He too had shivered at the coldness   
of his words, he understood.  
  
"Make work my will, young Vader," the tyrant instructed him. "Lord Vader, I   
will be waiting for your arrival in three days."  
  
"Yes, Master," they both bowed, then straightened when the holo faded out of   
view.  
  
  
  
  
Anakin turned toward his son to face him; his bright smile reassured him.  
  
"You are getting too good at that, Luke," he teased him while letting out a sigh   
of relief.  
  
"No more than you are, Father," Luke returned lightly. "And you will need your   
strongest shields and best acting abilities to survive while close to him," he   
reminded him grimly.  
  
"Yes, I know," he nodded, feeling his shoulders slump in worry.   
  
He and Luke had made a point to not return to Coruscant for the time being, but   
now, he had no choice, and a few months, it would be Luke's turn to 'take a   
vacation'. He was certain of this.  
  
"If he is truly convinced that we are serving him, then he might not even probe   
us to check if we're hiding things from him," he observed seriously to comfort   
his son.  
  
"Perhaps," Luke nodded, then checked his chrono. "Mara is leaving in a little   
under ten hours now; I'll go back to her, okay?"  
  
Anakin couldn't help but smile under his mask. Even though his son was pulling   
off quite an act of being a mean young man, he was still as earnest and as   
caring as he had ever been. Especially where his lover was concerned. He   
admitted that he reminded him a lot of himself.  
  
"Of course," he finally nodded in answer. "Make the best of your time   
together," he advised gently.  
  
"We will tonight," he promised him with a smirk, then he turned away, composed   
himself, then stalked toward the closed doors.  
  
The next time they would see each other, Anakin reflected, their plan would be   
well under way, perhaps even near completion. He couldn't wait to stop acting,   
he added glumly to himself as he entered his meditation room and began to   
prepare for his long term departure.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
That evening, revelry was the only order in the officer's mess. Their Lord and   
Lady however remained as cool as ever although they did celebrate with them, but   
once they reached their private quarters, they let go of their rigid self-  
control.  
  
"I'll miss you, Mara," Luke whispered while he ravished her neck with his   
sensuous lips.  
  
"And I'll think a lot about you, Luke," she answered, flinging his shirt in the   
general direction that his cloak had just taken.  
  
She winced slightly as his fresher scars stood out more prominently on the flesh   
under her hands, but she ignored her unease with them. It was their last night   
together. She sighed in bliss as he leaned over her, his trouser clad, strong   
body truly becoming the incarnation of her lover and sole true companion in her   
life. At last, he was once again the man she loved more than life itself. His   
lips continued to ravage her neck and chest; she locked her hands in his hair   
and pulled him back to her head where she could kiss him with all her passion.   
Through their bond, she felt that he was as delighted by their moment together   
as she was.  
  
For the moment, they weren't assassin and dark lord; only two lovers who were   
going to share the most wonderful thing in the world: their love, which had been   
put to test while they had been together, she remembered guiltily as Luke's   
hands began to explore her stomach and lower body. She suddenly broke their   
kiss, locking her eyes with his.  
  
"What's wrong? Are you all right?" he inquired as he gazed worriedly in her   
shiny eyes.  
  
"Luke, I'm sorry, I... I didn't want to spy on you after the incident, Luke,"   
she apologized earnestly, slightly avoiding his beautiful blue eyes. "And I   
didn't... I just lived with you... and told him about that," she admitted   
shamefully. "I didn't want to hurt you, but..."  
  
"You had no choice, I know," he reassured her as he leaned closer, then kissed   
her eyebrow in reassurance. "I too am sorry for the cold shoulder, Mara... but   
having you here with me...," he began hesitatingly, "I knew that Leia had   
stricken through my love for you... I couldn't risk it again," he explained   
sadly.   
  
When he lowered his gaze in regret, she leaned up once again and captured his   
lips with hers.  
  
*I guess we're even then,* she sent him with a very enticing offer.  
  
He accepted it with a smirk against her lips before they deepened their embrace.  
No matter what had happened, or would happen, they both knew and felt that   
nothing would ever separate them.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
Once Mara was gone, and that his father was on his way to Coruscant, Luke didn't   
waste anymore time and set about using the best part of every night to prepare   
for his secret missions. While he used his all-access, free-from-bugs computer   
to gather as much information as he could find about clones, a work droid took   
care to build both his specially-designed infiltration ship as well as the   
secret landing bay from which he would launch each one of his missions.  
  
It had taken him almost a whole month to gather everything that he needed   
without anybody the wiser, not even Mara, but now that he was there, he was   
ready for action.  
  
  
  
For the moment though, he was seated in front of his computer, perusing through   
yet another file. So far, he had discovered that clones couldn't survive the   
effect of the Force on them without turning crazy, and that it took ten days to   
a spaarti cylinder to create a viable clone. However, no clone were created   
this fast for safety and sanity reasons. Other than that, he had only found   
folklore and rumors.  
  
Still, he reflected as he began another search, the Force element was   
interesting. It explained why the Emperor transferred his whole spirit from one   
body to another instead of being content to live through them. He now   
understood that it allowed him to survive the debilitating process of his   
clones. However, he reflected, leaning back in his chair while his computer   
kept searching, it also meant that they would have to somehow eradicate the   
Emperor's spirit as well as his other bodies.  
  
Now how, he wondered uneasily, would they manage this?.. He made a note to   
mention this to his father the next time that he would see him. His computer   
screen finally changed to a new directory; he set back to work.  
  
If he couldn't find more information from his station, he decided grimly, then   
he would find on which planet he could find more information. Below him, under   
the deck, the engineer droid continued to weld metal plates in place and connect   
wires.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
While he waited for his secret ship to be ready, Luke began to tamper with the   
fleet, taking care of ships that 'required' his visit to straighten this or that   
detail with their troops... or officers.  
  
Hence, he found himself aboard the Avenger, taking part to yet another   
celebration supper where alcohol flowed freely in the glasses of the officers.  
Luke, who rarely drank anything, waited for them to be too much in a revelry   
mood to notice anything around them, then pretended that he had to go to the   
'fresher.  
  
He exited the dinner room, then stormed out of it and stalked toward the   
'closest' private relief room--- which just happened to be on a straight   
parallel with the engineering section. Once inside the room, he swiftly got rid   
of his velvety cloak and dress shirt, stuffed them in his small utility bag   
which he had been hiding under his cloak, then took out his assassin shirt and   
hood, then his chosen tools and weapons.   
  
He had to be back in this room in fifteen minutes, he reminded himself while he   
set his chrono. He also had to remain completely inconspicuous and hidden, he   
thought as he made sure that his poisoned darts were somewhere handy. Once he   
was ready, he knelt on the tiled floor and used his silent screw driver to free   
one of the metallic plates from its place. Under it was a mess of conduits and   
pipes which were barely lit by maintenance lights.  
  
He slipped under the floor, grabbed hold of a descending, sturdy pipe, then,   
hooking his legs around it, slid down all the way to the bottom that was the   
roof of the engineering section. He gazed around himself, peering through the   
fog which was caused by the heated pipes, and identified his next destination.   
Stealthily, he cat-footed toward the air shaft that he had identified on his   
plan, then slipped into it and went down to the level of the adjoining corridor.  
  
Once there, he jammed his legs against the sides of the conduit, making sure   
that he remained out of sight until the coast was clear. He barely reached out   
with the Force to check his surroundings, one of the only use that he made of it   
during his operation; he waited for the approaching figures to move past him   
before he slid all the way to the grid. There, he used a modified tool to   
remove it from the wall, then to close it again with only two screws.  
  
He briefly checked his chrono. Ten minutes and fifty seconds left.  
  
  
  
A minute later, he had reached his destination and was safely hidden under the   
core of the engineering station of the ship. Around him, techs and overseer   
were making sure that the ship's engine were functioning perfectly.  
  
Forty-five seconds later, his mini, undetectable receiver/override chip was in   
place and it was time to return to his other life. Careful to remain hidden, he   
slithered from shadow to shadow until he had reached another ventilation shaft,   
then opened it and went up in it.  
Unlike his descent which had been swift, the climb, as he had surmised, was long   
and demanding, especially since he had to remain silent.  
  
Two minutes later, he was back on the level of the pipes on which he had landed   
after his slide. Still careful to remain silent despite his not-specially   
designed boots, he ran as fast as he could to catch his way up. Since   
engineering and all the low-status duties were located at the bottom of each   
ship, all of them were equipped with old fashioned lift carts to keep the higher   
ups from going downstairs to obtain food, clean laundry, and whatever else that   
was part of the needs provided by the Empire.  
  
His lift was coming up fast now. Even as the medium-sized box rose upward, Luke   
gathered his strength and jumped; he caught the rope with his right hand, then   
crouched on the fast-moving box. He kept an eye on his exit route.  
If he missed it, he would be short in time.  
  
But he didn't miss it; instead, he gracefully landed on the pipes which were   
just under his targeted exit.  
  
A little over three minutes left.  
  
Swiftly, he pulled himself out of the hole, refastened the plate in place, then   
shed his uniform to replace it with his disguise before he once again hid his   
small bag under his cloak. He then used his last minute to catch his breath,   
fix his look, and slightly call on a trance to get rid of the traces of   
perspiration on his face.  
  
It had been a sauna down there, he admitted, making a note to find himself   
another alibi next time. The window was just a little too short to do it   
perfectly. However, he smiled inwardly as he exited the 'fresher, he had   
accomplished his mission.  
  
The Avenger was doomed now, a sad and necessary action of war to insure true,   
Light-born peace in the galaxy.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Throughout the following three weeks, he repeated his sabotaging operation   
aboard almost a third of the ships of the Fleet. No one ever suspected his   
brief disappearances, nor did they ever find anything suspicious in their daily   
checks in the engine rooms.   
  
On the eve of the fourth week, he turned away from the sight of the gathered   
fleet... and turned around to face his small, secret landing bay and preparation   
room; he allowed himself a sigh of relief. Even though the last weeks had been   
demanding, he hadn't had to hurt anyone during those, either in the imperial   
army or outside of it. His poison darts were still accounted for, still   
waiting to mimic food poisoning which would cause near-death pain for the victim   
before generating an general amnesia of the last two months, and the citizens of   
the galaxy were scared mute of the 'power' of the Empire... But he would soon   
make it up to them, he promised himself as he climbed aboard his secret fighter   
and checked it thoroughly. Every day, he and his father were coming closer and   
closer to being able to implement their master plan. In his fighter, everything   
was up to specs, and ready to fly.  
  
He smiled in satisfaction; the droid, once loaded with the proper programming,   
had indeed been able to replace a team of techs and engineers. 'And now,' he   
thought grimly as he jumped down from his ship and headed toward his equipment   
storing compartments, 'the real work begins.' Aware of what was awaiting him   
for the next months, he knew that his slipping past his distracted troops had   
been a child's game. On the other hand, infiltrating anything, even the   
Emperor's strongholds... Now that would be a challenge, he smirked grimly, but   
he was up to it, he resolved as he continued to prepare himself.  
  
Hours later, just before the dayshifts began aboard his ship, he returned with a   
first proof that he was indeed up to his new challenge. It had begun.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, on Coruscant, Anakin Skywalker took advantage of a lull of courtesans   
around him to escape the Emperor's newest function. He found refuge on the   
adjoining balcony. He gazed at the gorgeous vista of Imperial city at dusk, and   
for the first time in ages, he didn't think about it as a symbol of power and   
unchallenged ruling... but as a thriving city where the beat of life was such   
that it never went to sleep. While his eyes slowly slid from one spire of   
plexiglass and durasteel to another, his thoughts went to the beings who were   
caught in the 'wiring' of the societies and companies which were using them to   
grow. Mostly humans, except for a few aliens here and there in menial   
positions, they were all striving for a living, trying to survive the jungle   
that was Coruscant which was the worst, but unfortunately most profitable planet   
where one could choose to spend his/her life.  
  
While most planets had important cities and lucrative resources, none of the   
jobs offered on them could compare with the wealth, stability and social   
programs which were offered through the big players that were gathered 'at the   
center' of the universe. At least, he amended, from an imperial point of view;   
everybody knew that the center of the universe was Byss and the Deep Core   
region... where the Emperor kept his clones and other very secret secrets, he   
reminded himself grimly, his mind briefly refocusing on his part of his and his   
son's plan. Throughout the past weeks, he hadn't found much information except   
for the fact that any big secret in the Empire was always transferred there and   
taken out of the records until the Emperor chose to bring it back in everyone's   
knowledge... Like what had happened with information about the cloning   
technology. He now knew that, very much like what had been done to the Jedi   
teachings, almost every data about cloning processes and clones in general was   
either already destroyed or kept in locked-up locations. More and more, he was   
growing aware that Palpatine was a very wary man who never took any chances   
about anything.  
  
It was not reassuring at all, he reflected grimly, especially where his son was   
concerned---  
  
"Admiring the landscape, my Lord," a rich, male voice inquired from behind him.  
  
Anakin didn't need to turn around to identify the being who was now standing   
behind him: Xizor, head of the Black Sun underground organization.  
  
"No more so than you are, Prince Xizor," he returned coolly, turning slowly   
toward the malicious alien. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?"   
he then asked almost sarcastically.  
  
Xizor rode it smoothly, as if he hadn't noticed his disgusted attitude.  
  
"No particular reason, my Lord," he answered coolly. "I simply needed a breath   
of fresh air for a second or two," he finished, turning sideways toward the   
opposite edge of the balcony.  
  
As if, Anakin sneered mentally. If he knew one thing about the lizard, it was   
that he never did anything as risky as to approach him directly unless it served   
his purpose. The question being of course which purpose he was pursuing this   
time, he wondered warily. The silence between the two of them remained unbroken   
except by the sound of his own hated respirator, then just when he was turning   
away from the alien, the other spoke up.  
  
"By the way," he began with craftily mimicked polite interest, "I heard that our   
young Lord Vader didn't behave out there."  
  
If Anakin hadn't known how much hatred the dark Prince was bearing for his son,   
how much anger he still felt for the 'kid' who had supplanted him in the   
Emperor's favors, he would have believed his act of mere curiosity, but he   
wasn't dupe. He knew that Xizor wanted to confirm his spy's information, then   
perhaps put 'him' at cross-wires with the Emperor over the subject of his son.  
Anakin decided to not get on that wavy terrain.   
  
Instead, he turned again on his heel until he was facing the tall alien, then   
said: "And I was told that you pulled quite a private tantrum once your ensuing   
offer of service as the Emperor's third in command was refused," he commented   
meanly.  
  
Since he was closely monitoring the other, he caught the subtle shift in his   
skin's color; he knew that he had hit him where it hurt. He smirked in   
satisfaction, glad for once that his cursed mask prevented the other from seeing   
it. He didn't have to wear another mask over his features. He jubilated even   
more when the other remained mute, speechless for once, then he allowed himself   
to slip back in his Vader persona for just one second to threaten the   
machiavellian creature.  
  
"If I ever discover that those rumors were sowed by you," he warned, waving his   
finger in the other's face, "you won't like the consequences," he finished   
shortly, then turned on his heel and left the balcony where he had temporarily   
found refuge from the dark world that was his life for the moment. Behind him,   
someone swore to make his life even darker than it now was.  
  
  
  
******   
  
  
  
Five days later, in deep space, the Fleet continued to patrol areas where Rebel   
sympathy was reported... and to intervene when it was necessary. While Luke   
knew that he had no choice but to use violence if any trouble rose from those   
planets, he kept his troops on a short leash, defending his choice of strategy   
with the fact that they wouldn't strike unless they had to. Otherwise, he   
constantly reminded them, their presence was supposed to be only a deterrent.   
  
Hence, his own ship was now stationed above Tangrene while three quarters of his   
troops were temporarily assigned down on the surface to patrol the towns and   
cities and discourage anyone from defying the Empire... For the time being,   
Luke reminded himself as he prepared for his own mission on the surface, it was   
the best that he could do. However, he promised himself to make his choice of   
destination worthwhile for their unwilling host. While he had chosen Tangrene   
as 'his' destination because of the importance of its population, his true   
reason was the Ubiquetorate Data Bank that was safely ensconced in the middle of   
Tangra, the planet's capitol.  
  
Unlike his previous missions, which had always remained unnoticed yet had been   
more or less successful depending on how much information he had retrieved   
during them, he didn't intend to launch this new one from his secret hangar bay.   
Instead, he meant to use his sumptuous suite in the most beautiful hotel of the   
city as his temporary 'base'. As he had surmised, he reflected as he turned off   
his lights and checked his weapons and tools, his presence as a dark Lord had   
added to the deterrent effect of his passage in the area; whatever rebellious   
feeling he had detected around himself upon arrival had swiftly crumpled to non-  
existence when he had come closer to the sources of those feelings. While it   
was welcome for the moment since it saved him from giving horrible orders to his   
troops, it also greatly disgusted him because of its implication; he was a   
monster. He had done terrible things, he admitted shamefully as he put on his   
shirt and cowl; he couldn't even hope to make it up to all his victims, but, he   
promised himself as he walked toward his balcony, he would do his best, and   
more, to fix his mistakes.  
  
He swiftly prepared his chosen mean of transportation: a paraglider. Since he   
didn't want to call on the Force in order to not use the Light anymore than he   
had to, he had chosen this peculiar mean of transportation to reach his   
destination instead of jumping from building to building like he could easily do   
with the help of the Force. He stretched the wings of his black paraglider,   
climbed on the edge of his railing, then jumped.  
  
The warm wind of the nearby coast lifted him up, up, then it was up to him to   
direct his weight. He headed straight for the building which was located twenty   
meters away from the Ubiquetorate data bank.  
  
  
  
Ten minutes later, he was slinking from shadow to shadow, keeping his senses   
alert for any hidden alarm system. He knew that the Center, although open to a   
certain class of the society, was very well guarded by local enforcers. Still,   
he smirked grimly, even their wariness and surveillance gadgets weren't a match   
for his well trained infiltration skills... one of the very few things he was   
now grateful for in his imperial life. His training truly was a major gift from   
the tyrant, he conceded dimly, then added that he doubted that the man had ever   
meant it to be used against him. Good for him, he sneered at the thought, then   
refocused on his chosen way in.  
  
Over a temporarily deserted wall, across a barely lit backyard, then up an open   
window. He was in. Careful to remain silent, he studied where he was and   
compared it with his memory. He was in the room where calls were directed   
before they were dispatched on respective coms. That computer wouldn't be   
hooked to the data bank, he surmised; he slightly reached out to make sure that   
he was alone then slipped in the empty corridor and skulked as quickly and as   
silently as he could toward the upper levels and the offices of higher-ranking   
employees who would have access, restricted or un-restricted to the data bank.  
The only thing that he needed, he thought as he waited for two security guards   
to walk by him, was an access; he would take care to go wherever he pleased   
afterward. Warily, he exited his chosen nook and slipped closer to the door of   
the data manager.  
  
Surely, he reflected seriously, that person would have access to the bank. He   
hacked his way inside, then re-locked the door as if nothing had happened.   
Then, allowing his senses to be slightly less dampened than usually, he sat at   
the computer station and began to sift through menus. As he had surmised, the   
manager had a coded access to his goal. He briefly called on the Force to make   
him produce the right code on his first attempt, then, once this was done, shut   
himself off from his deeper touch with his true self. While he used his raw   
knowledge of filing and hacking to complete his mission, he admitted to himself   
that he missed the presence of the Force in his life. Whereas it had always   
been there, like a presence in his mind which kept him from erring too much from   
what he had to do to survive, he now had to rely solely on his five senses if he   
didn't want to pierce the 'cloak' of darkness that he had forced around his true   
self to hide from the Emperor. He admitted that he couldn't wait to shed it   
once and for all.  
  
In front of him, files continued to flash open and closed as he searched for   
datas about clones and darksiders.  
  
  
  
  
Approximately twenty minutes later, he had downloaded the equivalent of three   
discs of data and was busy covering the fact that an operation had taken place   
from the computer. The last thing he needed, he thought seriously as he erased   
all the temporary files that he had generated, was an alarm to reach the   
Emperor's ears. He and his father's plan was finally proceeding forward and   
rather well; they couldn't fail because of his inattention to details.  
  
Finally, he was ready to leave. After securing his disks in the inner pocket of   
his shirt, he briefly scanned his surroundings, exited in the empty corridor   
then locked the door again and headed for the closest closet. He had one last   
thing to do before he left, he reminded himself: he had to access the   
surveillance system and erase his two operations with the door pad.  
  
  
  
As he had noted during his tour of the data bank during the day, no one was   
monitoring the surveillance system. Instead, they were checking reports from it   
in the morning. Thus, it was child's play for Luke to erase the only remaining   
proof that he had ever been in the building during the night. He then used the   
grating in the floor to access the ventilation system of the data bank, and   
disappeared in the night a few minutes later.  
  
  
  
Yet another mission that had worked, he smiled to himself as he re-entered his   
suite, one hour later.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
On Coruscant, Anakin braced himself for yet another encounter with his slaver.  
Ever since he had freed himself from him, he had scrupulously avoided those   
occasions, timing even his arrival to match with one of his cursed victory   
receptions. Today however, it was unavoidable. He had been summoned to the   
throne room which meant that the Emperor wanted to talk with him without any   
interference from anyone. He wondered what it would be about this time. It   
would probably be about the future of 'his' domain, he reflected with a sneer of   
disgust. As if it were his, he thought in barely controlled anger, then caught   
himself and rid himself of his anger. The galaxy wasn't the Emperor's, he   
thought more coolly yet not less seriously; he had stolen it from the citizens   
of the said galaxy, wrenched it from their un-wary fingers, then had thanked   
them by forcing them to their knees and kept them there. Still did in fact.  
And to think, he mused, turning his returning anger into regret directed at   
himself, that he had been his sword... his dark knight who had pillaged, killed,   
injured and traumatized more souls than he dared count.  
  
Just how, he asked himself for the thousandth time since he had returned to the   
Light, had he missed what he was truly doing, way back when? Oh, he still   
remembered how compassionate Supreme Chancellor Palpatine had seemed with him   
when he and Padme had faced his vows as a Jedi to be allowed to be in love. At   
that though, he admitted shamefully that the man had indeed known just how to   
stroke his ego, his righteousness, and he, greatest fool who had ever lived, had   
not seen clear enough to even detect his cold heart--- until too late. By then,   
he conceded, he had known exactly what kind of man Palpatine had been, but since   
his own heart had begun to darken due to his fits of anger and hatred directed   
at Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Jedi Council, he had failed to see the danger of the   
man... then he had named himself Emperor and had offered him to enforce his law   
in the galaxy.   
  
The renewed Jedi momentarily closed his eyes as he remembered that faithful day.   
He had still been debating this powerful offer versus his surviving love for his   
angel when news of his Jedi teacher's betrayal had reached his ears and he had   
gone after him... on Vjun. It was there, on that cursed planet, that Vader had   
truly been born, and Anakin, nearly burned to a crisp. But he hadn't been   
completely burned away, he reminded himself as he pulled himself away from the   
horrible memories which followed that darker than dark day. He had survived,   
safely hidden in his heart where he had retained love for his by then hidden   
Padme; he had taken all the time that he needed to heal and recover... to be   
ready when the time would come to be reborn... and act.  
  
And that time 'had' come, he reflected more seriously. Soon, there wouldn't be   
anymore horrors perpetrated in the name of the Emperor and he himself would be   
free to fix his mistakes from the past, or at least as many of them as could   
anyway, he conceded glumly--- His comlink suddenly went off, informing him that   
he could enter the Emperor's throne room. Taking a second to cover his   
thoughts, he entered the dark room.  
  
  
  
  
The Emperor watched his true right hand and second in command as he climbed the   
long stairs that led to his throne. Unlike the son, he thought greedily, the   
older man had never been a danger for him; he had embraced the dark side too   
greedily to retain any scraps of his former life. He had to admit however that   
he had been worried about his devotion when the boy had appeared out of nowhere,   
then as he had gained his undivided care, but Vader had always been faithful to   
him, as he had proven to him once again when he had hurt the flesh of his flesh   
in his name. He hadn't liked it, he knew, but he still obeyed him.  
  
He was his creation, he smiled slightly as the other knelt respectfully,   
'his'..., body and soul.  
  
"What is thy bidding, my Master?" the other inquired seriously.  
  
"Rise, my friend," he invited him as he himself stood from his throne. "I wish   
to speak with you regarding a few matters of importance."  
  
Vader obeyed him, standing back to his feet until he was towering over him.   
For anybody else in his galaxy, except the boy and Jade, he knew that the sight   
of the standing giant struck cold dread straight to their heart, but not him.   
'He' was the master of the black clad man; he had made him who he was and had   
proven to him how useless it would be to entertain improper thoughts of attack   
or rebellion. Not that he had ever taught him painful lessons, he admitted as   
he began to walk near the large bay window which was sitting behind his throne,   
but Vader had seen him bestow that lesson on more than one soul to have learnt   
it for himself.  
  
"I heard that Prince Xizor had whiff of your son's straying," he began   
seriously.   
  
"Yes, Master," Vader nodded from his position at his side.  
  
Palpatine smiled under his cloak as he felt the barely concealed hatred in his   
dark servant; how he loved to pit those two one against the other, he reflected   
gleefully. They were both powerful, yet his servant had an obvious advantage   
over the devilish alien. After all, he sneered, nothing, not even intelligence   
could compete with the power of the Force. He turned toward the window and   
gazed at the center of his domain.  
  
"One wonders how he discovered it," he commented seriously, throwing an askance   
glance at his servant.  
  
"His spies must have picked up on my son's slight limp while I was aboard, Then   
reported it to him and he figured out the rest," the dark man answered coolly.   
"For what good it did to him," he added more coldly.  
  
Palpatine couldn't help but smirk in pleasure. This, he admitted to himself,   
was why he wouldn't replace Vader anytime soon: he enjoyed too much his cold   
reflections, devoid of feelings yet not immune to anger or hatred. A true   
machine of destruction.  
  
  
  
Anakin barely watched the cackling despot, thoroughly disgusted by the depravity   
of his soul. Even though the other hadn't said it, he could almost read it in   
the air: if the other ever had an alibi to be disappointed of Luke, he would   
find a way to punish his son again for his already inhuman effort to not show   
any sign of his last discipline. Yes, he had limped, he wanted to shake the   
other's shoulders. Who wouldn't with the injuries he had given him? Certainly   
not the Emperor, old corpse that he was.   
  
"Yes, Prince Xizor certainly didn't hide his desire to replace him in my   
favors," the Emperor finally commented, then sneered in annoyance. "I'm afraid   
that he doesn't realize just how foolish it is of him to consider himself the   
equal of even your son," he finished in disdain.  
  
As if, Anakin refrained himself from raging, his son wasn't his best element   
anymore. Aware that he had to remain Vader though, he tried to think of what   
the Emperor might be saying with that comment.  
  
"Luke made a mistake, Master," he finally commented simply to defend his son.  
  
"His last one," the other retorted dryly, chilling him to the bone with the   
implication of his answer. "I always feared this about him, my friend," he then   
continued more darkly, "His good heart is a danger to us; it corrupts his   
devotion to the Dark Side and myself."  
  
Suddenly having a very bad feeling about this, Anakin worked double time to   
refrain himself from revealing just a little too much of himself.  
  
"What would you have him do, Master?" he asked rhetorically, bracing himself   
for bad news.  
  
"Send him to me," he ordered shortly. "I will take care to either eradicate his   
Light forever... or I will eradicate him."  
  
"That won't be necessary, Master," he answered with a bow of his head. "I will   
warn him to cooperate even more than he ever has."  
  
"Good, dismissed," the other barely whispered.  
  
  
  
On his way toward the double doors, Anakin felt his insides churn at the thought   
of what the Emperor was planning for his son. Teach him dark secrets, he felt,   
but also rid him of his habit to care for and about others. They would need to   
prepare well before they obeyed that command, he decided worriedly.  
  
  
  
  
TBC in part 9: Dark Lessons  
  
  
SJ: Skyjade@globetrotter.net (any positive stuff is welcome, but negative or   
mean comments will be thrown down the Sarlacc's throat without being read.) 


	34. Redemption 9: Dark Lessons

Redemption  
Part 9: Dark Lessons  
By SJ 12-23-01/05-02 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
Considering that Luke's fleet was currently patrolling the outer rim area, it   
took Anakin almost two weeks and a half to rejoin him.  
  
Meanwhile, his son continued his secret missions, sabotaging a little less than   
half of the fleet as one ship after another shortly reported to him before they   
headed toward their new assignments. He also gathered so much information about   
the clones that he even knew how to poison them without anybody being the wiser.  
However, he had to admit defeat as far as information on the Siths and the   
darksiders went. He would have no choice, he sighed in reluctance, but to go to   
the source...   
  
To the Emperor.  
  
  
  
Luke was still debating his decision when his father's shuttle landed gracefully   
in the main hangar bay of the ship. They both went through the regular   
ceremonies and pleasantries, then retired to his quarters. There, they went all   
the way to his secret room where he had gathered his data and strategies.  
  
"So I take it that your coming here isn't a visit of courtesy, Father," he   
sighed as he perched himself on his work table."  
  
His father silently shook his head as he read a pad on which he had entered the   
recipe of a poison.  
  
"Do you... remember how much he insisted that you cared too much about me and   
Mara Jade... and Leia?" Anakin inquired seriously.  
  
How could he forget, he winced as he remembered all the stern, sometimes even   
painful lectures that he had gotten from the Emperor about this. He nodded   
silently.  
  
His father took a deep breath, then finally faced him completely.   
"He has decided to rid you of it, completely..."  
  
Flashes of the last time that the Emperor had taken actions on him suddenly   
invaded his mind. His father, who didn't know about his secret, noticed his   
sudden paleness; he leaned closer until he could caress his face with his right   
hand.  
  
"I know, Luke," he reassured him, "we'll do everything that we can to cut it   
short."  
  
Luke slightly shook his head in answer, then looked up and locked his gaze with   
his father.  
  
"There's... something that you must know... about me and the Emperor, Father,"   
he began hesitantly, then, when the older man remained silent, plunged in. "To   
keep Leia alive for a longer while, I... temporarily gave my soul to him as a   
fee."  
  
"Gave your soul?" his father half-whispered in shock, then dropped his hand from   
his face. "You don't mean that he overcame----"  
  
Luke could only nod in shame.  
  
For a long moment, both remained silent, avoiding each other's gaze, then his   
father turned away from him, his fists clenched in anger. The younger Jedi   
conceded that he knew exactly how the other felt; he wasn't very happy either.  
  
  
  
  
Anakin could barely keep his anger and hatred in check anymore. The Emperor had   
'dared' do this to his son. Had he not been separated by lightyears from the   
Emperor's presence, he would have slashed him in two with his lightsaber. That   
vile----  
  
"Father," both his son and someone else called gently.  
  
He whirled around, and felt his dark feelings evaporate at the sight of his   
beloved daughter.  
  
"Father," she repeated after exchanging a gaze of compassion with her brother,   
"entertaining such thoughts will not help you," she advised wisely.  
  
"But he will do it again," he argued, walking closer to Luke as if that would   
protect him from their temporary duty.  
  
Leia nodded sadly, closing her eyes in compassion, then refocused on him and   
Luke.   
  
"I'm afraid so, yet at the same time, I am relieved."  
  
"Relieved?" both Luke and him gaped in disbelief.  
  
"His greed for your soul has initiated his undoing, Luke," she explained, for   
the first time revealing part of the future to them. "While I wish that it   
wouldn't be so and that the plan would instead continue with the original time   
table, I can't, in my heart, forbid you to follow this dangerous path. It will   
lead you to victory."  
  
"And to quite a sacrifice," Anakin retorted with slight acidity in his voice.  
  
To his surprise, his son nudged him with his elbow, then gave him a stern look--  
- warning him against his resent, he realized. Instantly feeling sheepish, he   
took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.  
  
"If it can comfort you both," their angel continued gently, "it would have   
happened anyway; Luke's past experience with the Emperor is the key to unlock   
his secrets... and to open all the chains that he has forged throughout the   
galaxy."  
  
"Then better now, and from him, than anything else," his son half-whispered in   
reluctant acceptance  
  
The three of them remained silent, considering their thoughts.  
  
"Well," Luke finally sighed heavily, "I guess we don't have any other choice but   
to play this one out too."  
  
"But we will take our precautions before you go anywhere near the dark monster,"   
Anakin stated with finality.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hence, back in Luke's regular quarters so that he wouldn't be able to betray his   
and his father's strategy, Luke allowed his father total access to his memories   
and mind... Ani erased everything which concerned their plan against the   
Emperor, leaving only Luke's awareness of his own return to the light and his   
desire to escape the Emperor, but tucking them deep under his training, his   
servitude to the Emperor... and his last discipline. Unless the Emperor found   
his son's shielded shields, he surmised seriously, he wouldn't see past their   
strategy until Ani would decide that the time of their final kill was at hand.  
  
As he erased his son's memories of his last mission, witnessing how he had   
swiftly dispatched two wary guards before covering up with a phony stealing of   
technical details, Anakin felt a great pride for his son, his beloved son. They   
would both be on their own once again for the time being now, he reflected   
sadly. He himself wouldn't reveal his Light-self to Luke until the last moment.  
By then though, he hoped that his son would understand what he was doing and   
would jump in to help him, no matter what the Emperor would have tried to do to   
him. Just to make sure that Luke's light would be safe, he planted a   
compulsion in his son to keep his Jedi self hidden but alive, and ready for   
action. Thus, he estimated that his hidden Light would survive in secret.  
  
Then, once the Emperor would be dead, he thought as he exited his trance and   
waited for his son to pick up on his 'false' memories of a few minutes before,   
he would give him back what he had just taken from him. He would make sure to   
keep his memories safe and sound.  
  
"Are you sure," Luke finally inquired sadly, "that there is no other way?" he   
asked, raising his head to gaze up at him.  
  
"Do you want to anger him again?" he asked seriously, as if he were still Vader   
and that Luke hadn't told him the secret of his past 'bargain' with the evil   
man.  
  
"No," his son shook his head sadly. "I know... that my weak heart doesn't   
please him, Father," he added regretfully, "and I did try to get rid of it by   
myself, but... it is who I am," he finished glumly, then stood to his feet.   
  
Anakin watched him, relieved to see that his erasing/planting of memories had   
worked even better than he had hoped. Luke turned toward him, his hands away   
from either his lightsaber or other hidden weapons.  
  
"Who will I be if I give this up?" he asked in worry.  
  
"A servant of the Emperor," he answered shortly, as if it were the only   
important thing in their lives.  
  
"But I already am," his son pouted, an attitude that he hadn't seen in him,   
either Light or Dark, for a long, long while. "and I serve him well, now. I   
don't even love Mara as much as before," he added sadly, turning away from him   
once again.  
  
"But you are still very much at risk to turn into a Light Jedi, Son," he   
reminded himself grimly, standing up and walking up to him until he could rest   
both of his hands on his shoulders. "Do you even want to chance this?" he   
asked, mock-disdainfully.  
  
"No," was Luke's answer even as his disgust came through to him. "Being a   
'Rebel' was enough for me."  
  
"Good," Ani nodded, tightening his hold on his son's shoulders. "The Emperor   
wouldn't worry about your soul if he didn't want to keep you in his service,   
Son, don't worry. You can trust him," he lied, once again thanking the Force   
for his mask.  
  
He wasn't able to restrain his grimace of disgust at his own words.  
  
"I know," Luke nodded tiredly, then sighed and straightened before turning   
around to face him. "I won't disappoint him, Father. I will get rid of my   
weakness," he answered earnestly.  
  
The two of them gazed at each other more seriously, then Luke stepped away from   
him.  
  
"I shall leave immediately," the youth told him, then was gone to inform his   
officers about his summon to Coruscant.  
  
Behind him, Anakin gazed at his back, then rested his hand on his belt's pocket   
where he had stashed Luke's data disks. 'And I shall not leave you in his claws   
any longer than I have to, Son,' he silently promised him, then followed him   
outside.   
Everything was in place now, and except for his son slightly spying on the   
Emperor, but mostly keeping him from being suspicious, their fate was in his   
hands now. His son had more than done his part.  
  
  
  
*******  
  
  
  
Three hours later, Luke left his flagship and retired in the private quarters of   
his long-distance shuttle. The Emperor had once again found a way to overcome   
him... Just great, he sighed in frustration, then sat down hard on the bed in   
his quarters. First, he had had to hide his true self from Mara and his father   
in order to protect his secret and his plan, thus putting more and more   
emotional distance between himself and them, and now, the Emperor would do   
everything in his powers to make his efforts worthless. Well, he wouldn't let   
him win this easily, he resolved with all his might. No matter what the other   
did, what he wanted him to do, he would do it while retaining his love for his   
family and friend. For the past months, he had done just that, he reflected to   
reassure himself, so it shouldn't be that difficult to keep it going... even   
with the Emperor's close scrutiny nearby. He just had to reinforce his shield,   
he decided, then set to work on that. He had more than enough time to prepare   
for his upcoming meeting, he reflected sadly before he entered his meditation   
trance.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
In his private rooms in the palace, the Emperor smiled greedily to himself. The   
youth was on his way here, and according to his spy's report, he was coming for   
an unknown lapse of time. And indeed, he reflected in satisfaction, even he   
himself didn't know how long he would keep him close-by. First, there was that   
matter of Light, although much less serious than what he had led Vader to   
believe, but second, if the youth bowed to his every wish, he was going to groom   
him, to become a very special servant for him, even more than his father was, he   
thought seriously.  
  
More and more, he had decided that he was spoiling the boy's best talents on the   
bridge of his ships whereas if he dispatched him anywhere he pleased, with   
missions as his dark lord or not, then he would truly be his best servant ever,   
despite what he himself had led his father to think during their last meeting.   
Now that the boy's despised love affair with Jade was mostly over, he would be   
totally his. His to control, order... and mold. If his project worked as he   
estimated, he thought in greed, even his father would become inconsequential to   
the youth, but first, he reminded himself seriously, he would have to rid him of   
the sole remnant of his life before he had become a Dark Jedi: his care.  
  
Then, and only then, would he be able to teach him some of his dark secrets and   
take possession of his mind, just like he had seen during his recent   
meditations. content with this future, he served himself a second generous   
serving of strong liquor and savored his coming new conquest, a conquest he had   
always meant to accomplish yet events had kept playing against him... until now.  
  
  
  
*******  
  
  
  
Unaware of the Emperor's true plans for Luke, Anakin oversaw the ongoing patrols   
of the fleet, then subtly began another phase of their plan. Every so often,   
after reading reports and finding 'weaknesses', he ordered changes in the crew   
of less satisfying ships... thus slowly transferring conscripts aboard the   
untouched ships while leaving true imperials aboard the sabotaged ones. No one   
ever noticed anything since there were never more than twenty men transferred at   
the time, and they never were from the same sections. On one ship, he made it   
look as if he wanted to reinforce weaponry while the others would learn how a   
good job was done; on another ship, it was the commander of a platoon who   
couldn't go along with his troops anymore, and so on. Slowly but surely though,   
the hundred and fifty ships of the fleet, his and Luke's included, became   
exclusively conscripts or not; no one paid attention to this. They had a job   
to do and they did it or else... face their lord.  
  
In the galaxy, quietness remained. Luke's few assaults on a few strategic   
populations had convinced most of them to remain quiet, and other than   
intervening against criminal problems or very few pro-rebel elements, the   
patrols proceeded without an hitch.   
  
Meanwhile, he himself was hard at work in his study, reading all the data that   
his son had gathered for him, then searching his own extensive Jedi library for   
the secret abilities that the Emperor had undoubtedly developed but kept secret   
from his son and himself. He dimly hoped to be able to act before his son spent   
time with the Emperor...   
  
But two weeks and a half after his departure, he had to admit failure regarding   
that goal. He wasn't near ready to confront their slaver one last time. His   
own ship continued his slow progress back toward Byss.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Luke's shuttle eventually landed on the landing platform that was closest to the   
Emperor's throne room. He patiently waited for the ramp to lower, using this   
last moment alone to prepare himself for his first meeting alone with his slaver   
since Leia's death. During his trip, he had tried to establish contact with his   
dead sister once again, but he hadn't been able to. Instead, he had had visions   
of the future.  
  
In some of them, he had managed to save himself, in others, he had also freed   
his father and lover, and in others... he had failed. Before he could remember   
much of those though, the shuttle hissed open; he strode down the lowering ramp,   
then walked past the small honor guard and headed toward his 'master's' throne   
room. He was expected and any delay wouldn't help him to survive this.  
  
  
  
The Emperor felt the boy's arrival the moment that he entered Coruscant's orbit.  
The moment he probed him, he became aware that, just like his right arm had told   
him in his last report, the youth had indeed quashed much of his care already.   
No matter, he shrugged, it would save him from more discipline but he would   
still take measures to totally eradicate it from his persona.  
  
Ten minutes later, the double doors at the end of his throne room opened; the   
strong, average tall young man stood in the spilling light for a brief second,   
allowing him to register the contrasting, ominous black and white image in his   
mind to savor it later on, then he stepped inside and the doors closed behind   
him. He himself kept his eyes locked on his young, serious features, weighting   
yet again all the possible futures for this most exceptional element. The youth   
finally reached his level and knelt at his feet.  
  
"Master," he said simply, respectfully.  
  
The Emperor answered him by reaching out and probing him, as if to judge how he   
had 'recovered' from his last punishment.  
  
  
  
  
Luke kept himself from wincing as he felt the cold intrusion of the Emperor's   
mind in his own, but it was short-lived and he was left alone. The other hadn't   
detected his shield.  
  
"I see that your father taught you well once again, my young friend," the evil   
man commented as he leaned even deeper in his throne.  
  
"Yes, Master," he answered humbly, still on his knee since he hadn't been told   
to rise.  
  
"Tell me," the other continued, amusement obvious in his voice, "what are your   
feelings nowadays for Mara Jade?"  
  
"They aren't the same, Master," he answered mock-truthfully although he made   
himself feel as if it were the truth.  
  
The Emperor didn't notice anything wrong.  
  
"But you still love her," he pointed out, standing to his feet to loom closer to   
him.  
  
The youth nodded contritely, then the Emperor told him to look at him.  
  
"I warned you about the danger of love, young Vader," he began menacingly,   
standing so close to him that his neck was hurting thanks to its extreme angle   
backward. "Your companion finally understood it, but you..." His hand shot out   
and clasped his chin; Luke couldn't help but wince in reaction. "You keep it   
alive... and open yourself to its corruption. We almost lost you once," he   
reminded him, bending forward until he was drilling him with his piercing yellow   
eyes. "Do you want to risk it again?" he spat viciously at him.  
  
"No, Master," he answered instantly, earnestly.  
  
"Good," the other nodded in approval, then let go of his chin. "We shall rid you   
of that feeling, my young friend, and since you are so vulnerable to its   
corruption, not even care will remain in you."  
  
"H--- how, Master?" he inquired nervously, uncertainly.  
  
The Emperor gave him another glare before he recovered his cool attitude and   
stepped away from him.  
  
  
  
Palpatine was pleased with his discussion with the youth. He was already   
dragging him wherever he pleased like an obedient servant. He pretended to be   
upset by his attitude of fear, but in fact, he was studying the youth. He could   
really do with more training, he decided.  
  
"First of all," he began seriously, "no more contacts with anybody but myself   
and a few selected trainers," he informed him. "With a new focus for the time   
being and forced solitude, your corruption shouldn't survive, and if you keep it   
alive," he continued, his voice suddenly growing cold with dark threat, "I   
shall punish you in a way you most despise already, and it will be so for as   
long as you haven't destroyed that side of you, am I clear?" he demanded.  
  
The widening of the boy's eyes told him that he understood exactly what his   
punishment would be; the privacy of his mind. He 'would' fight against himself,   
he understood.  
  
"Aside from physical challenges, you shall further your training in the Dark   
Side; it is time for you to unlock some of its secrets," he finished coolly,   
appraising the young man yet again with his eyes.  
  
In time, he thought in satisfaction, he would be a perfect tool, honed and   
sharpened to perfection, and unlike Jade or his other hands, who all had   
limitations, or his father, who was growing old, young Vader wouldn't have any   
limitations of any kind, and would be content to live for him and his will only,   
as he had once told him when he had marked him as his own. It was now time to   
use this bond between them, he cackled inwardly.  
  
"We begin tonight," he informed him, turning away from him in dismissal.   
"Report to level 98, wing D. They are expecting you."  
  
  
  
  
Given his training as an agent, Luke couldn't help but gape as he understood   
where he would be quartered: the Emperor's secret projects area. He himself had   
been there only once during a mission, but otherwise, he had never ventured in   
the top-secret section. He had to admit that some of the experiments that were   
going on there were giving him the creeps, especially the biological ones. He   
could only hope that the only purpose to keep him there was that there was no   
better place to be truly secluded, except the detention levels of course. He   
wasn't particularly interested in taking part to any experience there.  
  
"Yes, Master," he bowed again, then stood back to his feet and left the   
platform.  
  
On his way toward his destination, he allowed himself a slight sight of relief;   
exercising and using the Dark Side, that wouldn't be too bad compared to what he   
had lived through with Mara around. What would be hard though would be to truly   
hide his love for Mara, but he had to do it; he wouldn't give the other even one   
occasion to punish him. He entered the suddenly deserted turbolift, then rode   
it all the way to level 98, then, taking a deep breath to gather his courage,   
walked down a corridor, then opened a non-descript door and stepped into another   
corridor.  
  
Unlike the regular design of the palace, this one was completely white; white   
muzzles of laser weapons were barely detectable in its design. No one but   
already cleared individuals could make it past this first security measure...   
except perhaps a Dark Jedi, Luke reflected dimly before he refocused on the   
present moment. At the end of the corridor was another door which slid open as   
he neared it; two Force-pikes barely avoided slashing his nose off as they   
blocked his progress forward.  
  
"Identification," one of the taller men ordered.  
  
Although he was well-known throughout the galaxy and especially from the royal   
guards, Luke knew better than to not obey them. Since he also knew how they   
proceeded in this part of the palace, he extended his hand, palm up. One of the   
guards produced a tool and took a sample of his tissues, then shot them in the   
nearby computer. A few minutes later, a new door opened in front of their small   
group, giving access into a darkened room that was barely lit by green rays of   
light. Scanning, Luke remembered.  
  
"You are expected in room 24, my Lord," the guard bowed slightly.  
  
Luke was tempted to thank him, but remembered why he had been summoned here and   
affected a cool, even cold attitude. He walked forward, ignoring the two men.  
His transit in the scanning room was strange since he could feel the beams as   
they coursed up and down his body, but the crawly sensation was quickly over and   
he was stepping into Wing D itself. It was exactly as he remembered, a series   
of doors with a number; each door hid a secret, ranging from a lab to a hangar   
bay. He reached door 24 and entered.   
  
He didn't know what to expect, but what he got wasn't part of his possible   
choices. A medic stood up from a chair behind a desk and walked toward him;   
behind him was a complete medical station which enabled medics to run tests of   
every kind.  
  
"Welcome, my Lord," the man bowed respectfully. "If you please remove your   
clothes, we will be able to proceed without delays."  
  
'Efficient and straight to the point', Luke reflected in slight surprise, then   
decided to obey. He didn't have much choice anyway, he reminded himself.   
His secrets and survival depended on his pleasing the Emperor for the time   
being. He took his cloak off his shoulders and hung it on one of the rings   
beside the door, then did the same with the rest of his uniform.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, in a different laboratory in the core system, Anakin followed his   
son's instruction as he created a biological agent that would be taken as   
natural by the bodies of the Emperor's clones, but that would, in fact, keep   
them from ever awakening and being alive. However, he smiled to himself, no one   
would ever detect this until too late. While he had taught himself chemistry   
and biology when he had become Vader, he had to admit that his son's knowledge   
far surpassed his own. Of course, he conceded with a barely restrained sneer,   
the boy had needed that knowledge to safely manipulate explosives as an   
assassin. He himself only wished, that he had awakened sooner from his   
nightmare and not drag his son into it with him. If only he hadn't needed   
Leia's death to question himself, he sighed sadly.  
  
*But Luke wouldn't have been able to help you, Father,* Leia's voice entered his   
mind.  
  
He looked up, and saw her just beside him, her compassionate gaze warming his   
cold universe.  
  
"I know," he nodded reluctantly, "but I still wish that I hadn't gotten you two   
involved in it."  
  
Leia nodded in understanding, then turned serious. He noticed it.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"I know what the Emperor wants with Luke," she explained more grimly than she   
had ever done ever since he had seen her in her spiritual state.  
  
"And?" he prompted her, wishing not for the first time that he could touch her   
once again.  
  
"He doesn't want to overcome him exactly like we thought," she told him, then   
tightened her lips, "but... you must act quickly or Luke's shield will fortify   
itself until it can't be broken anymore, even by him... and a new dark threat   
will rise on the galaxy."  
  
Anakin listened to every word, feeling his insides churn with worry with each   
new sentences. This was even worse than they had thought, he admitted glumly.  
  
"Where is he now?" he inquired earnestly.  
  
"In a secret section of the palace, resting from tests which will enable the   
Emperor to create a training program that will develop him beyond his limits,   
all the way to his complete, never-before-seen potential. He is also cut off   
from everybody except the Emperor and a few others."  
  
Definitely not good, Ani reflected, standing up from his stool to pace nearby.   
  
"How long do I have?" he finally asked worriedly.  
  
"Three weeks, perhaps a month," she answered softly, sadly.   
  
He closed his eyes at this, praying that he would be on time. The poisoning   
agent wouldn't be ready for another week, then it would take him at least two   
weeks to reach Coruscant from the core. It would be a tight schedule, he   
conceded reluctantly.  
  
"I will try to keep an eye on him, Father," Leia promised, "but with the Emperor   
nearby, I don't want to risk his safety."  
  
"No, we don't want that either," he agreed with her, then lapsed into silence.  
  
Somehow, he thought seriously, he would have to be on Coruscant in less than   
three weeks.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Five days later, Luke collapsed on his bunk as he returned from yet another   
demanding training session. Whereas he was still in very good shape, what the   
Emperor's trainers were putting him through was unlike anything he had ever   
faced. Up to now, he had never trained at full intensity for hours on end since   
his former trainers had told him to vary the intensity of his exercises to   
obtain better results. That principle didn't seem to apply to him anymore.  
  
Then, he yawned tiredly, there were also the schedules of the trainings. He   
never knew when he would train next, or how, and it could be during the day or   
night alike. The Emperor though followed a more regular schedule, coming in   
after his mid-day meal. At first, Luke had been reluctant to use the Dark Side   
like the other was now teaching him, but he had had no choice and had done it.  
What he realized as he reflected on his last session, was that slowly but   
surely, he was beginning to get insight on his 'slaver'; he somehow knew a   
little more about his powers, some of them that he had never even witnessed   
before. However, he wasn't close to understanding how he summoned them, nor was   
he steeped enough in the darkness to be able to use them himself.  
  
He wouldn't complain at all about this arrangement though; it relieved him.  
While his very demanding physical work made sure that he didn't think much about   
anything anymore, giving the impression that he was truly loosing his 'weak'   
heart, he was in fact retaining it, keeping it close to himself and safe under   
numerous shields of invisibility and darkness. Other than those three things,   
he didn't have much in his life. He was staying in a small room which was   
sparsely furnished with a bunk almost as hard as the platform under it, a small   
replica unit that provided him with very few options from one meal to another, a   
small fresher/closet, for lack of a better word to describe the small enclosure   
in the wall, and he had three changes of clothes that weren't close at all to   
the uniform that he had lost on his first day here. Everything was designed to   
harden him, he admitted. At the moment though, he thought as he rolled on his   
side, he didn't care about it at all; he just wanted to sleep.  
  
He closed his eyes... and fell asleep almost instantly.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
At the center of the universe, its true center, Lord Vader met with a group of   
administrators and officers in the Emperor's castle on Byss. While he was there   
to take poison the clones, he pretended to have captured documents that were   
revealing the existence of an incoming attack on the fortress. Aware that the   
forged documents wouldn't be enough to cover for his actions, he had also sent   
anonymously the information to a nearby, small group of rebels would make sure   
that his word would be true. As expected, the officers read the 'captured'   
information, then snapped in action and ordered their troops to position   
themselves at their defense station.  
  
Meanwhile, he himself led the group of scientists to the clone's laboratory to   
make sure that they were safe and protected from attacks from the outside.   
While the creatures were already in separate, reinforced vats, Anakin suspected   
that the Emperor had more than one system of defense which could be activated to   
protect the future of his Empire. Hence, while an extra shield was methodically   
lowered over each vat, then that a magnetic field was activated, Anakin took   
advantage of his position near the control board to momentarily neutralize the   
alarm system of the monitoring computer. Next, he surreptitiously emptied a   
small vial in its nutrition system before resetting the complete system.   
Around himself, the panicky medics and scientists continued to secure the   
laboratory. Nobody noticed his actions, not even when he destroyed the   
Emperor's sample of tissue in the lab before erasing its sequences from the data   
banks. The clones were doomed now--- and the attack began.  
  
  
  
As he surveyed the result of the last battle, Anakin silently praised the Rebels   
for their valiant effort. Despite the high technology at the service of the   
Emperor's servants, and despite the biological surprises of the fortress, the   
freedom fighters had managed to incapacitate the command center and open a wide   
breach in the wall of a secondary lab.   
  
Had he had time to help the prisoners, he reflected on his way back to his ship,   
he would have, but since he was on a tight schedule, he rejoined his flagship,   
then ordered it back on its way, patrolling the area at top speed... toward   
Coruscant.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
TBC in part 10: Always in motion is the Future 


	35. Redemption 10: Always in Motion is the F...

Redemption  
Part 10: Always in Motion is the Future  
By SJ 12-23-01/05-02 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
  
__________________  
  
  
  
  
When the Emperor entered the youth's 'cell', two weeks and a half after his   
arrival on Coruscant, he expected him to be recovering from yet another normally   
impossible physical challenge. Hence, he wasn't totally surprised when he   
discovered that he was slumbering. He smirked coldly at the perfection of his   
opportunity. Considering that the boy wasn't aware of his presence at the   
moment, he could finally study him as he pleased without any risk of   
interference from the still slightly wary boy. He first scrutinized his body; it   
had always been strong, he conceded, but now, it was becoming even stronger and   
more agile. However, he noted clinically, his muscles hadn't begun to bulge   
yet; instead, they were only more sinewy and defined. It was the same for his   
torso, he continued his scrutiny as he stepped closer to the unaware youth.   
Still, he reflected seriously, his reports were satisfying.   
  
As he had meant to achieve, he had first determined the boy's true limits, of   
his resistance and stamina, then had ordered his trainers to devise a program   
that would push the youth to those limits. Then, while his trainers forced the   
young dark Jedi to fight for his life day after day, he himself had slowly begun   
to take possession of his mind for real this time, allowing the youth to get   
used to their slowly growing bond until he would be irremediably bonded to him,   
thus becoming his, in every sense of the word. He had been 'gentle' up to now,   
he conceded, not wanting to worry his 'subject', but now that the youth was   
definitely shedding his care to focus solely on remaining alive and pleasing   
him, he decided that he would do it with more intensity.  
  
Starting, he thought more greedily as he rested his hand on the boy's forehead,   
now---   
  
The moment that he probed the boy, he felt a most disgusting particularity that   
had been well and truly hidden from him. Instantly forgetting about his plans   
for the boy and giving into his hatred for the spying Jedi, he lashed out at   
him.  
  
  
  
Luke, who had almost fallen unconscious after his latest session, suddenly felt   
a cold hand on his forehead, then before he could understand who was there, felt   
a similarly cold probe in his mind. Unfortunately, given his tired state, his   
shields had lessened slightly--- and the Emperor caught whiff of his true self.  
Before he could shield himself, or pretend to crush it for him, the other   
assailed him with mental pain that practically knocked him out.  
  
"Cursed Jedi," the Emperor spat in the distance, then attacked him again.  
  
Suddenly, Luke felt himself fly off his bunk--- and crashed hard on the floor   
when a new torment assaulted him: the Emperor's lightning bolts.   
  
This time, Luke shrieked in agony even as he dimly understood that the Emperor   
had discovered his double play. He was done for, he barely thought--- then the   
fiery torment went away, leaving him in a barely alive state; it didn't seem   
enough for the Emperor. Instead of leaving him to his torment, he wrapped a   
Force-leash around his neck, practically strangling him with the strength of the   
hold, then forced him back to his knees and in front of him.  
  
"So you were only pretending," the older man spat in his face even as he clasped   
his head. Meanwhile, the noose around Luke's neck continued to tighten, as if   
it was about to strangle the life out of him... efficiently forcing him to focus   
all his remaining strength on not passing out instead of shielding his mind, he   
realized in horror. Before he could think about shifting his focus, the   
Emperor speared in his mind, painfully shoving aside everything that met his   
presence--- until he found his secrets.  
  
"Please... I didn't---" Luke tried to choke out, but it only resulted in a   
tightening of the invisible noose around his throat.  
  
"A Jedi," the other finally snarled in his face while not letting go of his   
head. "A total waste of talent and power!" he hissed viciously to the now   
barely conscious youth.  
  
Luke wanted to hiss back, scream, or merely express his pain, but he couldn't   
produce a single sound, instead trying to save his breath for a last attempt to   
save his life. Before he could do anything though, the Emperor freed him from   
his hold, then while he had barely begun to recover his breath, knocked him   
unconscious before he had even had time to rub his throat with his hand, let   
alone mount a defense.  
  
  
  
Once the disgusting Jedi was knocked out, Palpatine finally calmed down and   
considered his options. The little brat had freed himself from his vicious hold   
and had even managed to hide it from him and his family. He was dangerous, he   
surmised with finality.  
  
However, he reflected more calmly as he probed him again, he wouldn't waste that   
kind of power. The youth had already proven to him how perfect a tool he could   
be if properly groomed. He would have to kill his spirit while keeping his body   
and clever mind alive, he decided with finality. And one way to do so, he then   
reflected meanly as he pulled his comlink from his robe's pocket, was to make   
his life miserable until he had enough.  
  
"Prince Xizor," he called in the comlink. "I have a gift for you," he sneered,   
throwing a glare at his disappointing subject.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
When Luke recovered his senses, the first thing that crossed his mind was that   
his last training session had been worse than his previous ones. He ached   
everywhere. He brought his hand to his eyes---only to discover that his two   
hands were bound behind his back and that he was laying on his left side.  
  
Awakening thanks to the following surge of adrenaline, he opened his eyes--- but   
saw nothing but darkness. He instinctively tried to call out for someone, and   
became aware that he was gagged as well. What was going on?, he wondered----  
  
The suddenly well-remembered choking noose reappear around his throat, then it   
forced him back to his knees despite his bonds. While Luke prepared himself for   
the end this time, the noose slackened, disappeared--- then he was assaulted by   
his returning hearing and eyesight as whatever was covering his head was ripped   
away. He winced despite himself at the harsh light, then heard a gasp of   
surprise that belonged to an unfortunately familiar voice.  
  
  
  
Xizor, who had hurried to answer the Emperor's summon, followed him in a side   
room of the throne room. He had to admit that he was curious as to which gift   
the old man was saving for him. It would be a first such experience for him.  
  
They entered a non-descript door, then the Emperor stepped toward the sole   
prisoner of the empty room. A young human male was laying on his side; his   
hands and feet were securely bound while his features were covered by what   
seemed to be an isolation hood. He was regaining consciousness, he noticed as   
he studied his useless shifts to free himself from his bounds.  
  
"As I was saying, my friend," the Emperor continued in his dry voice even as the   
youth suddenly, unexplainably forced himself back to his knees despite his   
bonds, "I have a very unique gift for you to thank you for your loyal services   
despite our little problems in the past."  
  
While it didn't take a genius to understand what the Emperor meant to give to   
him, he had to admit that he was puzzled as to why. He conceded that the young   
man seemed well-built and healthy enough to be worth a small fortune on the   
slave market, but money was of little consequences to him, as it was to the   
Emperor. No, he reflected as his eyes riveted themselves on the hood that hid   
the man's features, it was something else. Then, the Emperor viciously pulled   
the piece of fabric from the prisoner's head and he understood exactly what was   
going on.  
  
The son of Lord Vader had somehow fallen from grace. Even as the youth pulled   
his head to the side in reaction to the harsh light of the room, the Emperor   
grabbed hold of his hair and forced him to look at him. The blue eyes, which   
had always been hard and cool, were suddenly frightened as they rested on him.  
He allowed himself to smile meanly at the horrified youth.  
  
"As you can see," the older man smiled meanly, "it is a very unique gift which   
will have to remain secret for the time being."  
  
"Of course, my Master," he bowed respectfully while the beleaguered child tried   
to complain about this predicament.  
  
He himself sneered viciously at the struggling youth. Oh, he would certainly   
not sell this young man, he promised himself.   
  
"What about his Force powers, Master?" he suddenly inquired as he remembered   
just why he himself had never attacked again the younger dark lord.  
  
"They are of no concern for the moment," he reassured him even as he glared down   
at the furious youth.  
  
Just what, he wondered suddenly, had the Emperor's youngest protege done to   
irate him this much? He then made a note to himself to never upset the Emperor.  
  
"May I ask what happened?" he inquired as suavely as he could while he stepped   
closer to his new property.  
  
"What I always suspected," the other sneered, then tightened his grip on the   
youth's scalp as if in deep frustration.  
  
"I see," he himself nodded, not entirely sure that he understood. He could only   
deduce that it was a Force thing this time.  
  
"Given the son's talent to hide his true nature from me," the Emperor continued   
more seriously, "I shall not take any chances with his father and ascertain his   
true devotion, which means that for the time being," he finished more solemnly,   
"you shall be my right hand, Dark Prince."  
  
Xizor, who had only had eyes for the furious youth for the past minutes,   
registered the Emperor's words and looked up at him.   
  
Second in command of the Emperor. He had finally gotten closer to the throne.  
  
"It shall be a pleasure, my Emperor," he bowed his head, then threw a mean smirk   
at the glaring boy.  
  
  
  
"Of course," the Emperor continued, "this will be efficient only after I have   
taken care of Lord Vader. I will summon him but he is still a day or two away   
from here. For the moment, enjoy your gift as you see fit, but keep him alive,"   
he added warningly, freezing Luke's blood with his words.  
  
Both Xizor and Luke threw a glance/glare at the older man. Great, Luke thought,   
he hadn't given up on him just yet. He only meant to punish him with Xizor's   
help. Well, he wouldn't---  
  
"In time, I will take him back," he informed them.  
  
Xizor bowed in acceptance of the Emperor's conditions while Luke desperately   
wondered how he would get out of this one; he couldn't even feel the Force   
anymore.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Aboard the Executor, which was now in transit in hyperspace, Anakin Skywalker   
awoke with a jolt from one of the most horrible nightmare that had ever assailed   
his senses. In it, his son had failed to fool the Emperor and had been turned   
into a prisoner and slave once again.  
  
Feeling yet another icy shiver run down his back, he suddenly understood that it   
wasn't a nightmare but a vision of the future. For a few, terrifying minutes,   
he even convinced himself that it had already happened, then he remembered what   
Master Yoda had used to say about the future; 'Always in motion is the future,'   
he had warned his young students over and over again during meditations. Back   
then, he had assumed that it meant that the visions were quicksilver, but now,   
he understood. Nothing was determined about the future; they themselves 'made'   
their own future. Setting his mind on finding a way to reach Coruscant faster   
than his actual pace, he stepped out of his bed and had barely begun to   
straighten up when his comlink went off on his night table.  
  
The moment he rested his eyes on the inoffensive device, an icy shiver ran again   
down his spine; he instantly understood that whatever 'it' was about, it was   
linked to his vision. Hesitantly, he picked it up and activated it.  
  
"Yes," he rumbled to cover his non-enhanced voice.  
  
"The Emperor commands that you contact him immediately, my Lord," Ozzel's voice   
answered in one breath.  
  
"Tell him I will call him in five minutes," he commented as walked toward his   
nearby armor, then shut down the transmission.   
  
As he changed into his armor, two thoughts crossed his mind. First and   
foremost, he had the horrid premonition that his son had been uncovered, and   
second, that he himself was running out of time. He did his armor as fast as he   
could, then went in his anteroom and established the connection. As was his   
habit, the Emperor left him to wait nearly twenty minutes on his knee before he   
deigned to activate the communication. How typical, he sneered to himself.  
  
"Rise my friend," the other invited him.  
  
"What is thy bidding, Master?" he inquired like his usual self.  
  
"Your presence is required on Coruscant, Lord Vader. Events have developed; I   
need your assistance with your son."  
  
Before he could ask any question, the communication was cut, leaving him with   
worries, unanswered questions and growing hatred at the dark monster who was   
still ruling his life. What had he done to Luke?, he asked the unseen Force.  
Unlike all the other times that he had tried to establish contact with his   
defunct daughter, he didn't manage to connect this time.  
  
Instead, he remained alone with his emotional torment until he snapped into   
action, gathered what he needed for his face-off with the Emperor, then headed   
for the hangar bay. He had the perfect alibi to reach Coruscant without anymore   
delays, and once there, he thought as he strode down the black-tiled metal   
corridors, he would strike whether he knew the Emperor's secrets or not.  
  
They were truly running out of time now.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
In the Force's plane, neither Leia nor Padme heard Ani's call. Instead, both of   
them worked on the Emperor's block over Luke's abilities. While her brother   
couldn't reach out anymore, Leia could still touch his soul, but he was deaf to   
her presence now. He didn't know that he wasn't alone in his fight; Leia also   
knew that no matter how strong her brother was, he wouldn't hold on forever   
before beginning to crumple mentally.   
  
Hence, while she and her mother did their best to block out what was happening   
to their uncovered last hope and family member, they both channeled, in their   
respective ways, the power of the Force to open a rip in the dark veil that was   
now surrounding Luke's center of power.  
  
Since they were not nearly as powerful as the young man was, it was a very long,   
arduous work that stretched into hours, then days...  
  
  
  
Luke didn't know how long he had been in Xizor's claws. The only thing he did   
know was he hadn't given him much respite since he had taken him out of the   
Emperor's palace and stashed him somewhere deep in his own castle. At least,   
that's what he thought had happened, but with the isolation hood back on his   
head back then, he couldn't be sure. However, he dimly conceded that this was   
what made the most sense to him. What worried him the most at the moment though   
was not his bad predicament, nor even his loss of power and the Emperor's anger,   
but how his father would react to his treason.  
  
More than anything else in his life, even more than his love for Mara, which he   
had undoubtedly lost now, he didn't want to disappoint his father... nor put him   
at risk. He knew now what the Emperor would do once his father would report to   
him; he would attack him just as he had done him, and if he didn't like what he   
found, or found his hopes to someday supplant the Emperor and rule in his place,   
he would kill him or worse... give him to Xizor... his new protege. As if, he   
sneered in foreknowledge, the Forceless alien would ever satisfy the evil dark   
Jedi. He had been serving him long enough to know that sooner or later, his   
cunnings wouldn't suffice and he would lack the edge that the Force had given to   
both his father and himself. His father... no matter how devoted to the Emperor   
he was, no matter how much he had hurt him in his name, he forgave him   
everything and didn't wish him ill fate. He was a slave, just like he himself   
had been, but he himself would never allow himself to be one again, he resolved   
with all his might.  
  
Now that he didn't have to pretend to be a bad man anymore, he had completely   
rid himself from his anger and hatred, instead holding onto the opposite of what   
the Emperor wanted him to be. Now, he reflected tiredly, if only he could find   
a way to escape. His current situation wasn't just to pretend, and unlike when   
he had been a 'rebel', he couldn't count on rescue of any kind.   
  
Just as he barely begun to analyze a possibility of a plan, his cell opened once   
again, allowing entrance to the green-skinned alien that he disliked just as   
much as his father did. The alien, not because of his race but because of his   
machiavellian brain, thoroughly disgusted him, even more now than before.  
  
"Ah, I see you've recovered," he smiled meanly at him, baring his fangs to   
express his dark contentment.  
  
Luke ignored him, not even giving him a defiant glare. He wasn't worth the   
effort, he sneered inwardly.  
  
Xizor didn't appreciate his cold reception.  
  
"I just received word that your father is expected in a few hours," he informed   
him as he forced him to gaze at him.  
  
"Great..." he muttered sarcastically.   
  
"Oh yes," the other agreed as if they were both best friends and mere merely   
chatting about the choice of a dessert or which music to listen to. "That gives   
us just enough time to make you presentable for the Emperor," he added more   
seriously.  
  
Luke braced himself for more unpleasantness.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
While Anakin's shuttle exited hyperspace and prepared for his landing, another,   
smaller ship also reached its destination, equally answering an imperial summon.  
However, since the little ship was entering the atmosphere from the opposite   
side of the planet, the ex-dark lord didn't notice it. Instead, he focused on   
his upcoming face-off with the Emperor.  
  
  
  
Fifteen minutes later, he was standing in the Grand Corridor outside the   
Emperor's throne room, awaiting his turn with the ruler. While he stood there,   
ominously discouraging anyone who would want to open a conversation with him, he   
tried yet again to locate his son. He couldn't find his presence anywhere.  
Either he was shielded, he reflected sadly, or he was already...  
  
No, he objected the thought that crossed his mind. He would not lose another   
child to the Emperor's bid for power. Luke was alive, and he would soon be free   
from whatever had been done to him.   
  
The ward finally announced his turn; he stood tall and walked past the Emperor's   
court, a court that would soon lose any reason to exist, he reminded himself.  
Then, he focused on the crucial moment.  
  
  
  
From the darkened alcove on the left of the throne, Luke was recovering from the   
knock out drug he had been given just before leaving Xizor's palace. Even now,   
he was barely conscious enough to identify the silhouette of his father against   
the white and purple backdrop of the Grand Corridor, but he wished, oh he wished   
that he could warn him of the Emperor's ploy. The despot had cleared the room   
of everybody except them, which meant that he was suspicious of his father. He   
himself had to admit that he didn't know what to expect from his father; the   
only thing that he knew at the moment was that he was held aloft by Guri and   
that he couldn't escape her. He also couldn't make a sound to express his pain;   
the Emperor had taken away his voice. Beside the droid and himself, Xizor was   
grinning evilly.  
  
  
In short, he moaned inwardly, he could only watch as his father reached the   
upper platform--- then collapsed to his knees when the Emperor suffused his body   
with agony before he invaded his mind as he pulled his lightsaber from his   
person. Even without the Force, Luke knew that this was what was going on.   
  
He felt for his father.  
  
  
  
  
  
The moment that he noticed the absence of guards in the room, Anakin grew wary   
for a trick---- but he never expected the attack to come as it did. Even as he   
was caught unprepared by the searing agony of molted lava, a probe of dark   
energies speared right through his mind, demolishing whatever blocks he was able   
to maintain when not in pain... Then he was bared to the Emperor's eyes... and   
paid with even more pain.  
  
"As I thought," Palpatine sneered over his shrieks of agony. "Like Father, like   
Son, both conniving traitors!" he spat even as he himself felt a renewed surge   
of excruciating pain, then he was left alone; he crumpled to his knees and   
hands, spent of any energy he had had just moments ago.  
  
No, he tried to rouse himself, he couldn't falter now. Luke needed him. A   
thudding sound suddenly attracted his attention to his left--- and he found   
himself staring in horror at the sight of his barely conscious, injured son---  
  
"Luke," he whispered, meaning to go to his side, but he quickly became aware   
that he couldn't muster even a little energy to move.  
  
Beside him, his son moaned as he fought to recover his awareness.  
  
"He was a nice appetizer, Vader," an alien voice hissed from somewhere above   
the two of them.  
  
Anakin weakly craned his neck, and wished that the Falleen could see his eyes so   
that he could glare at him and see him falter under his sulfurous disgust.  
  
"There will be time for this, my friend," the Emperor interrupted their face-  
off, stepping closer to them. "But for the moment, I have a score to settle   
with the Skywalkers," he snarled, then flicked his hands in an upward motion.  
  
Both Luke and himself were instantly gripped by the neck by invisible leashes,   
then they were both pulled up, up, up---- until they were both hanging in the   
air as if they were dangling from nooses, then the ropes moved to their arms,   
painfully pinning them against their sides; there, they tightened even more   
until he was sure that his bones would soon snap under the pressure, dangerously   
threatening his own apparatus in the process.  
  
"Now," the despot began ominously as he walked closer to his two prisoners, "I   
believe that the time for secrets is over. First, you," he glared at the older   
man. "Tell me everything you hid from me or the boy shall pay."  
  
Before Anakin had debated whether to obey or not, Luke screamed beside him,   
obviously caught in some torment or another. Nearby, Xizor watched, a satisfied   
sneer plastered on his face.  
  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, in the plane of the Force, a fight was still proceeding.  
  
"Hurry, Leia," her mother urged her even as she herself continued to physically   
pull on the veil that was still cloaking Luke's Force's senses.  
  
"I am, I am," she barely commented, then focused once again on the ethereal   
fabric of the veil, thinning it with sheer will--- Then a rip opened in it,   
allowing Luke's Light to spill free.  
  
At last!  
  
  
  
  
Even as his body became suffused with agony that only the Emperor could conjure   
up in anyone, Luke dimly understood that his father had hidden things from him.  
What did the Emperor mean by his father sabotaging the fleet?, he wondered in   
confusion. Another 'attack' cut off his thought--- then the warmth of the Light   
side of the Force poured once again into him--- and he knew what he had to do.  
  
He freed his right leg from the Emperor's Force bonds, and kicked the nearby   
despot hard under the chin. The other, who had felt his sudden return to his   
Forceful status, had turned toward him and was thus in perfect position to take   
the full toll of the kick right where it hurt most.  
  
The impact naturally cut through his concentration, and the following rough   
landing temporarily dazed him; both Luke and his father fell more or less on   
their feet on the deck. Then, while sending to his father a quick thought which   
was filled with everything that he had learnt from the Emperor, Luke turned   
around to face Xizor and Guri--- and barely had time to duck her swift round   
house punch before he himself kicked out with his less painful leg and shoved   
the droid away from himself and his father. Unfortunately, he barely retained   
enough equilibrium to avoid her sweeping kick without falling on his ass, but a   
quick if awkward flip backward and he was back in a more solid stance. It saved   
him from her next attack.  
  
He warded off her following kick with his left elbow, then blocked her second   
one with his injured ankle and knee while keeping an eye on the nearby dark   
prince. As he jumped yet again away from her to give himself a short relief, he   
tried to open his cuffs... and discovered that even with the Force, he was   
trapped in them. It was up to his abilities and weakened legs to do the job, he   
accepted glumly, then forced himself to refocus on the present. Guri was   
already on him, meaning to knock him off his feet. He shifted sideways and let   
her fly by him, then switched to the offensive and took advantage of her turning   
her back to him; he chained up a series of kicks that surprised his robotic   
enemy with their Force-enhanced strength and speed. His direct kick in the   
droid's knee managed to snap its armature, forcing her to her knee.  
  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, Anakin, who had been as surprised as the others by his son's swift   
recovery, didn't waste any time and called his lightsaber to his hand before he   
attacked the vile tyrant. As Luke's quick teaching had led him to foresee, the   
despot called on his lightning powers, but since he himself now knew how they   
were generated, he reached out and blocked the other from producing anymore of   
them, using the Emperor's arrogance against him. Unable to believe what was   
happening, Palpatine lost another precious decimeter to him before he reacted...   
and hid his physical presence in the Force. Well two could play that game,   
Anakin thought seriously as he immersed himself in the Light side... and jumped   
away from his son's blade which was now in the Emperor's hands. He parried a   
second attack, then barely shifted his blade in time to block a third one.  
  
  
  
  
At the same moment, on the other side of the platform, Xizor had come to his   
droid's help, forcing the dangerous youth away from his prized servant; he   
pummeled the young Jedi with powerful hits. Whirling on the ball of his foot,   
he landed another kick against the head of the weakened boy, drawing another   
moan from him as he steadily backed him toward the nearby stairs. If he   
couldn't kill Vader, he thought in hatred, he would satisfy himself with the   
brat. He kicked forward/upward again, catching the boy under the chin and   
forcing him back up, then he gathered his momentum for the 'coup de grace' that   
would send the beleaguered, dangerously balanced child tumbling down the long   
stairs. He took a step closer to the now harmless child, gathered all his   
strength to finish him for real--- but even as he straightened his leg to hit   
his target, the youth jumped and tumbled away from him. He himself was already   
too advanced in his movement to stop his forward progress; it was his turn to be   
precariously balanced on the lip of the first step--- and then it was too late   
to think.  
  
  
  
Luke barely landed on the higher platform of the stairs, strengthening his   
Force-braces around his injured leg, then jumped again, this time forward and   
toward the tall alien. He hit him straight on the solar plexus, forcing him   
down on his back, then, before the other could recover from his rough landing,   
jumped again and finished him.  
  
Somewhat like what had happened to his droid when he himself had forcefully   
deactivated her, he reflected dimly. This danger being dealt with, he gazed up   
to focus on the other danger--- just in time to witness the Emperor's demise.   
  
The moment that he felt the other's oppressive mind disappear completely from   
the Force, his adrenaline receded and he crumpled to his knees with a barely   
contained wail of pain. His body, he understood even as he worked extremely   
hard on himself to not pass out, hadn't appreciated his recent work out. He was   
so focused on keeping the blackness at bay that he missed the presence of a new   
threat that came from behind.  
  
  
  
  
While Luke finished both Xizor and his droid, Anakin pressed his advantage   
against the Emperor. Now, he thought in satisfaction, it was his turn to cast a   
veil over the other's unsuspecting, overconfident mind; it proved to be the   
Emperor's undoing. Without the Force, the old man was nothing but a furious   
fool.   
  
Despite his vows to serve the Light, Anakin allowed himself the pleasure of   
relishing the moment when he plunged his blade of light in the heart of the   
darkness of his life.  
  
"For Leia and Padme," he said victoriously, then reached out and crushed the   
Emperor's shocked mind under a vise of condensed Light, just like his son's   
quick sending had taught him to do.  
  
The other died, body and soul; since he was cut off from the Force, he went   
without grand explosion as was the custom with the darksiders. Once Ani was   
sure that his enemy was dead, he allowed himself to refocus on his surroundings   
and grew aware of the moaning that was coming from his son's location. He   
swiftly turned around--- and stopped short in surprise.  
  
Mara Jade was standing behind his kneeling son, viciously gripping his hair   
while her other hand was primed to finish him with her vibroblade---but   
something seemed to still her hand, he instantly realized in brief relief.  
  
"Mara, don't," he begged her, immediately recovering from his horrified shock;   
he ran to his son's rescue.  
  
The young woman gazed up at him, her eyes confused at first, then they hardened   
and she prepared to strike again.  
  
"No!!!!!" he pleaded with her, reaching out to pull her weapon from her hold.  
  
Unfortunately, she was shielding herself from such attacks and kept him from   
taking her weapon away from her. At her feet, his son was barely conscious once   
again.  
  
  
  
When Mara had answered her master's summon, she had expected it to be of a   
regular nature... A report, then a new mission.   
  
However, she arrived just in time to witness his demise at Vader's hands while   
Luke dispatched Prince Xizor and his droid in a most efficient way. Her   
reflexive fury and hatred naturally blinded her and she attacked her friend,   
forcing him into a semi-conscious state before she viciously pulled his head   
back up to expose his throat and chest to the blade of her assassin knife.  
  
For her Emperor, she whispered hatefully--- then stopped as her eyes met Luke's   
barely opened ones. What was she doing?, she suddenly asked herself as she   
gazed at the injured features that she knew almost as well as her own...  
  
A sudden warning cut off her moment of doubt; she raised her eyes just in time   
to see Vader rushing toward her. Her hatred returned in a flash and she   
tightened her grip on her ex-boyfriend.  
  
"You betrayed us," she spat vehemently even as she pulled harder on Luke's head   
until his jugular was visible against his skin.  
  
Luke, who was still more or less aware of what was going on, moaned in   
complaint, but given his cuffs and different injuries, she knew that he didn't   
present any danger for her.  
  
"He betrayed us all, Mara," Luke's father tried to reason with her, slowly   
approaching her as if she were a frightened child.   
  
"No," she objected, implicitly warning him off by bringing her blade very close   
to Luke's throat. Her ex-lover, who was still fighting hard to regain   
consciousness, barely winced when her blade bit slightly in his skin. "He gave   
us everything that we ever wanted," she defied, using her grip on Luke's hair to   
let out more of her anger. "And that is how you serve him in return?"   
  
In front of her, the youth moaned more loudly this time.  
  
"Ah, Mara..." he tried, but shut up when she brought her blade near his ear so   
that he could hear its dangerous humming.  
  
Like herself, she knew that he 'knew' what that sound meant: his death was   
imminent now.  
  
"Mara, listen to me," Vader tried again, throwing his lightsaber behind him in a   
gesture of good will. "He was only giving us what 'he' wanted, and he didn't   
want you to be with Luke anymore," he lied suavely--- yet somehow truthfully,   
she felt despite herself.  
  
"That's not true!" she defied more out of frustration than belief. "I would   
have returned to Luke after my next mission," she continued half-hopefully,   
half-seriously.  
  
"You wouldn't have found him," Vader shook his head in compassion, taking a   
small step closer to her.   
  
She tightened her grip on her weapon, slightly pushing it closer to Luke's   
throat until he expressed his pain once again; Vader stilled his progress   
forward.   
  
*Mara, please,* her lover tried through the Force, *don't let the Emperor cloud-  
--,* he sent, but she cut him off before his feelings of love and despair could   
reach her heart.  
  
"Luke was here, on Coruscant" his father seemed to continue his son's thoughts.   
"and had the despot not found his Light Side, he would have turned him into   
someone who wouldn't have been allowed to love you anymore."  
  
That did struck a chord with her. No matter how much she wanted it to be false,   
she knew that the Emperor 'could' do what Vader was saying.  
  
"You lie," she still defied although her blade had already moved minutely away   
from her lover's throat.  
  
  
  
"I do not," Anakin continued hopefully, gently. "Look at Luke, you'll know what   
I say to be true," he invited her, aware that her bond with Luke might just save   
his son's life.  
  
The young woman hesitantly lowered her sight, reluctantly gazing down at her   
captive... The two youths remained still for a long while, as if paralyzed,   
then the young woman's hand fell back to her side and she let go of Luke's hair   
before she stepped away from him. Anakin instantly rushed to his son's help.  
  
"Are you all right?" he asked him even as he called Jade's knife to his hand to   
free his son from his cuffs.  
  
The young woman didn't react at all to the loss of her weapon; she remained   
silent, her eyes devoid of life. In his arms, he felt his son relax against him   
as he welcomed his support.   
  
"I've felt better," the youth half-whispered, then flicked his gaze upward to   
look at him, ready for action once again, he noted. "Guards are coming!" his   
son warned him even as he strained against his hold to recover a standing   
position. Ani pulled him back down.  
  
"Let them come," he answered seriously, then cut the cuffs free from one   
another. "We're safe here."  
  
"Safe?" his son gaped in disbelief.  
  
He nodded in answer and drew his transmission device from his pocket. It was   
time to end it once and for all, he thought as he punched in his authorization   
code, then activated it.  
  
The sudden wave of Force-driven pain and agony hit both his son and himself as   
the sabotaged ships disappeared from the galaxy... then the waves of torment   
ebbed from their senses.  
  
"What..." Luke gasped as he caught his breath, "what was that?" he finally asked   
in worry.  
  
Anakin, who was slowly straightening back to a more upright position, noticed   
that Mara had also felt the wave; the young woman's hand was still covering her   
heart.  
  
"Your work and our last kill," Ani answered seriously, then helped his son in a   
less painful position.  
  
"Our last---" his son wondered out loud, then gasped again, this time in   
reaction to his touch on his right leg.   
  
"Sorry," Ani apologized contritely--- then flicked his gaze upward when he   
noticed a movement from the corner of his eye.  
  
He barely had time to catch Mara's reflexive step toward his son before she   
caught herself and forced herself away from him. She still loved him, he   
understood sorrowfully, but as he had feared, his and Luke's recent action had   
dug a deep trench between the two youths. He could only hope that they would   
work it out, he reflected then tried to soothe his son's physical pain with the   
Force. The effect was instantaneous; Luke sighed in relief and was finally able   
to add his power to his own.  
  
"Not... to break this up, Father," he then commented in a drowsy voice as he   
remained in a semi-trance, "but what about the troops outside and the Fleet?"  
  
Suddenly remembering that his son didn't have a single clue as to what had just   
happened, let alone what their plan was, Ani silently moved his probe from his   
boy's injured knee to his forehead and gave him back his memories.  
  
Luke's third gasp in less than five minutes told him everything that he needed   
to know: it had worked. He slowly opened his eyes and met with his son's awed   
features, then he said three wonderful words: "We did it!"  
  
"Yes, we did" he answered, then hugged him in relief.  
  
They had won, and had both survived the challenge. They were free. The galaxy   
was free. He hugged his son tighter, an embrace that was returned despite the   
youth's injuries.  
  
"It's over, at last," the young man whispered against his shoulder, then pulled   
away from him to gaze at him, as if waiting for confirmation that the nightmare   
truly was finished now.  
  
"Yes, it is," he reassured him, gazed a little longer at his injured features,   
then helped him to stabilize his position before he stood up to his feet.   
"We're safe from the conscripts; they will help us maintain safety in the   
galaxy. In the meantime though, let's clean-up a little," he smiled to himself,   
then threw a glance in his back at the still silent young woman.  
  
He himself still didn't know what to do about her, but judging from what he felt   
from his son's heart, he knew that he wouldn't be allowed to threaten her.  
  
  
  
Mara, who was now thoroughly confused about her life and her friend, noticed the   
glance that Vader gave her, then she shifted her eyesight and met with Luke's   
eyes. She instantly understood that he didn't hold a grudge against her. She   
had almost killed him, had meant to take his life to avenge her master, but he   
didn't love her less than before.   
  
Whereas her mind had been a blank up to now, it was suddenly a jumble of worries   
and thoughts which were threatening to drive her insane. How could he still   
love her after all this? How could she let him live after what he had helped to   
do to the Emperor? How could she even think to raise a hand on him? And what   
was she going to do now? She couldn't stay and betray the Emperor, nor could   
she avenge him and kill Luke... She had to leave, she realized even as she   
slowly backed toward her hidden entrance.   
  
With each step though, her heart literally screamed out in growing agony, trying   
as hard as it could to keep her from leaving the only man who had ever made her   
happy in her dark life, but she didn't listen to it. She 'couldn't... listen to   
it, she reminded herself sternly, taking yet another step backward. Neither   
Vader nor Luke made any gesture to keep her with them, but she felt Luke's   
senses try and reach her... she didn't let him. She had almost reached the   
safety of the secret alcove when her lover's voice drew her out of her almost   
trance-like state.  
  
"Mara, I love you," he told her softly, gently... irresistibly.  
  
Had she listened to her heart at that moment, she would have run back beside him   
and forget the events that had just happened, but she didn't allow her true self   
to decide. Instead, she followed the rigid code of her training and kept   
herself from giving into her emotions.  
  
"My door will always be open for you," Luke tried again, and this time, she felt   
his desire to come after her; she was somewhat relieved that his incapacitated   
body didn't want to cooperate because she knew that his close presence would   
have melted her heart once again, but no...  
  
She wouldn't allow it ever again. She left her former life behind... but not   
before gazing one last time at her lost lover... who still meant the universe to   
her. Then, she barreled down secret corridors, trying hard to ignore the fact   
that tears of sorrow were streaming down her face.  
  
  
  
  
Up in the throne room, similar tears were running down Luke's cheeks.  
  
She was gone. He hadn't had any chance to speak with her, let alone explain to   
her why he had done what he had. She was just gone, and as he knew her, he   
wouldn't see her again.  
  
"Perhaps it's better this way, Son," his father's gentle voice offered from   
behind him as he stepped closer once again.   
  
"I love her," he answered, aware that those three words were enough to carry the   
loss and sorrow that he was dealing with at the moment.  
  
Mara was gone. His life would never, ever be the same... He would never be   
able to find someone like her ever again.  
  
"I know, Son," Anakin comforted him as he crouched back beside him. "I wish it   
were different; you seemed to   
be meant for one another," he reflected out loud.  
  
Luke could only nod slightly, unable to do anything else thanks to his broken   
heart. His father rested his hand on his shoulder, a silent support in this   
difficult moment, then he stood back to his feet.   
  
"I'll give orders to clean the room and free the prisoners of war," he said   
seriously, then reminded him: "we won Luke."  
  
Luke barely nodded, then shrugged. The Emperor was dead, the galaxy was finally   
free as were his father and himself were, but Mara was gone.  
  
How would he go on?  
  
He was so lost in his sorrow that he was barely aware that his father set in   
motion the new phase of their plan, even less when he knocked him out for his   
painless transfer to the medical wing.  
  
  
  
TBC in A Whole New Life (with Luke, Ani and Mara).  
(parts 1 to 10)  
  
  
Well, hope it entertained you once again. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to   
post the two sequels, so more for you next week-end (if The Force wills it ;)   
Till then, hope you'll continue to have fun and enjoy yourself!  
  
Love and care  
SJ: Skyjade@globetrotter.net (any positive stuff is welcome, but negative or   
mean comments will be thrown down the Sarlacc's throat without being read.) 


	36. A Whole New Life 1: Victories and Losses

A Whole New Life  
Part 1: Victories and Losses  
By SJ 12-23-01/01-04-02 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
  
Once the news of the Emperor's demise had made it outside of the throne room,   
the after-effects hadn't been long to come. While most of the former imperial   
army, which was now mostly made up of conscripts, gladly swore allegiance to the   
dark Lords who had freed them from the Empire, a few renegades elements from the   
ground army violently rebelled against the new authority.  
  
One of those 'elements' was the Academy of Carida which categorically refused to   
let its conscripts go and even opened a local war against them. Fortunately,   
most conscripts on the planet were already trained and apt to defend their   
lives, but Anakin knew that they needed reinforcement and fast. Given the   
distance, he himself wasn't able to intervene directly, but he dispatched eight   
trusted commanders to take care of the academy as they saw fit.   
  
Two hours after the original signal of rebellion came in, the eight star   
destroyers in question exited hyperspace nearby Carida, and ten hours after the   
beginning of the attack, Carida, as well as the mines of Kessel and the   
Correllian system were as pacified as they could be for the moment.   
  
Thus free from duties for a short while, Anakin left the throne room to check on   
his son's recovery. As he stalked down crowded corridors, he reflected about   
the results of their most recent battle; it had been as bad as when he had been   
Lord Vader, he thought glumly. However, the targets hadn't been innocents, and   
he himself had been aware of the hatred of his commanders toward the academy   
which had stolen their lives from them. He conceded that he shouldn't be 'that'   
surprised with the swift results. But more important, he then reminded himself,   
the young men who had been taken from their families were now free to return to   
them.  
  
With the last remnants of the Emperor's loyalist out of the fight in the galaxy,   
it only left those who had found refuge in section D of the palace, but first,   
he thought seriously, it was time for him to take care of his own family.   
During the face-off in the throne room, he hadn't had much time to spare to   
worry about his son's true status, but now that their new ruling was mostly in   
place with the former imperial war machine behind them, he had time to worry,   
and he couldn't help but shudder at the memory of his son's injured sight. He   
didn't know what the snake and the tyrant had done to him, nor did he really   
want to know, he admitted, but he hoped that it wasn't more serious than he   
thought it was.  
  
He 'had' felt his son's pain during their mental contacts... He 'knew' that his   
body hadn't been complaining about something trifle. If only he had been able   
to save him from this torment, he thought again as he entered the medcenter   
proper. If only it had been him instead of Luke, he thought while he dimly   
noted the scared features of the people he passed in the corridors. He tried to   
ignore them and instead focused on his son. He would have deserved to be in his   
son's place, he admitted shamefully as he allowed the memory of the disaster on   
Falleen to come back to his mind. That had been his fault, his own misguided   
choice to build such a dangerous research lab in the middle of a teeming city.   
Had he not been responsible for Xizor's family's death, the alien would have   
left his son alone...  
  
Or would he have?, he wondered uneasily, he pondered heavily as he stepped   
inside the medcenter proper. Around him, medics instantly grew uneasy with   
fright and either scurried away or stepped up to the man in charge and handed   
him their reports on what he suspected concerned his son's status.  
  
"My Lord," the head medic bowed more ceremoniously. "Your son will recover   
well."  
  
"Is he awake?" he asked even as he refrained from sighing as yet another wave of   
fear of him entered his awareness.  
  
They would never see him as anybody but the dreaded Lord Vader, he understood   
for the fourth time within the past minutes, then closed in eyes in wariness as   
he became aware of the consequences it would have on his and his son's plan.   
Luke wouldn't like this, he thought glumly, then forced his eyes open once again   
and refocused on the professional medic.  
  
"Not yet, but soon," the man informed him, then invited him to follow him. "He   
is in a private room, resting from the bacta treatment."   
  
Anakin fell in step beside him.   
  
"How bad was his condition, Dr Yuw?" he inquired gently.  
  
The other threw him an inquisitive glance, having obviously noticed his attempt   
to be more sociable than his usual self, then faced forward again.  
  
"It was bad enough, My Lord," he answered, stopped in front of a non-descript   
door, waved his hand in front of the reader, then stepped inside as he activated   
the report.   
  
Ani followed him and walked all the way to the edge of his son's bed. He was   
resting on his back, his bandaged right hand resting over his left one on his   
stomach... as if he were at peace at the moment, he reflected sadly, then   
conceded that perhaps he was. He admitted to himself that he certainly didn't   
want to wake him up just yet to their world in current turmoil.  
  
"Even though he didn't have any internal bleedings," the medic read seriously   
behind him, "his bones bore micro-seizures and two of his ribs gravely injured."  
  
Anakin barely nodded in answer, his eyes never leaving Luke's quiet feature.   
Such a nice, unique young man, he thought to himself... A child who should have   
never been through what had befallen on him because of him... his father. Now   
even more than ever, he was aware of what he had brought upon his angel-like   
son: hardship, and even more hardship than he should have ever seen. He knew   
now how wonderful his boy was, not at all like himself who had, in a way,   
consciously embraced evil for almost half of his life. Unlike him, Luke had not   
been given a choice, yet had retained his good heart... his Light.  
  
His son, he decided with finality, would be the figure-head of the new   
government, and he himself would--- he suddenly stopped his train of thoughts as   
another truth slammed into him as he remembered his stroll to the medcenter: he   
couldn't stay... As long as he would be trapped in his armor, he would always   
be Darth Vader, the inhuman monster who was responsible for half of the Empire's   
horrors... He would ruin their plan to pacify the galaxy. Luke on the other   
hand was still human and young... He would be forgiven for his servitude under   
the Emperor---  
  
"My lord?" Dr Yuw inquired diligently, stepping closer to him.   
  
"Thank you for your assistance, Doctor," he reassured him warmly, gazing at him   
briefly before he turned back toward his son. "I wish to be alone with him   
now."  
  
"Yes, of course, my Lord," the other bowed, then left without a word.  
Once they were alone, Ani sat down on the bed, then took Luke's bandaged right   
hand in his own right hand and gently held it. "I'm so sorry, Luke," he   
whispered softly to the unaware boy. "I wish that things were different...   
I'll make it up to you," he promised earnestly, bowing his head over his son's   
hand. "I give you my word on that." He then closed his eyes and prayed to the   
Force to be true to this promise----  
  
"There's... no need to... Father," Luke's sleep-dry voice answered, surprising   
him; he swiftly raised his head to look at him.  
  
His son's eyes were still slightly closed thanks to bacta-driven tiredness, but   
they were clear of pain, regret, or sadness. Instead, they were filled with   
love and compassion, and even much, much more so than Ani had ever seen them   
when they had covered their true identities. It made him shift uneasily beside   
him.  
  
  
  
Luke was slowly drifting awake, allowing his memories to put him up to date on   
the previous events. There had been the Emperor's anger, days ago, he dimly   
remembered, then his giving him to Xizor. He halted shortly on the painful   
memories which assailed him at that, then fought past them. He remembered being   
taken back to the Emperor's throne room, and there... his father--- had also   
been treated as a traitor, he remembered more clearly.  
  
Slowly, the events continued to play onward in his mind. He and his father had   
fought, he remembered more vividly even as he awoke a little further. They had   
fought... and won. And now? he wondered as he focused on his hearing senses.   
At first, the only sound that reached his ears was his father's breather, then   
his voice, a ghost of its usual self, entered his awareness.  
  
As he listened to his message, he understood that his father was berating   
himself for what had happened to him. How could he blame himself when they had   
both tempted their fates? His sacrifice had been as much his fault as it had   
been his father, he thought seriously--- then he understood. His father's grief   
wasn't only about the outcome of their plan, but about their whole lives as   
well. Well, he conceded more somberly, yes, his father 'was' partly responsible   
for getting them both into the Emperor's claws, but, he objected instantly, it   
had mostly been the Emperor's fault to start with. Palpatine had always been a   
schemer, he now knew. He himself had no doubts at all that the evil man had   
planned and plotted to ensnare his father in his veil of lies... until it had   
been too late to come back to his old self... for the time being. So, he   
summarized reasonably, it wasn't really his father's fault, and even if it were,   
he added earnestly, they had both survived his mistake and had even freed   
themselves from the dark Jedi. He wouldn't let him sink into self-depreciation,   
he decided, not after what they had managed to do, both alone and together.  
  
"There's... no need to... Father," he reassured him even as he pried his eyes   
open.  
  
Even as his father gazed up at him in obvious shock, he himself fought against   
his temptation to just drift asleep once again, but no, he told himself. He and   
his father had to settle a few things before he got more rest. He wouldn't let   
him entertain false retributions against himself.  
  
"Luke," his father breathed in relief, then pulled him up to a sitting position   
and hugged him fiercely.  
  
Luke, who was still more or less awake, didn't have time to react to the   
unexpected move; once he recovered from his surprise, he loosely returned the   
hug even as he tried to breathe in spite his father's strong hold.  
  
"I was so worried," his father explained gently as he continued to hold him. "I   
tried to get here as fast as I could, I'm so sorry---"  
  
"It's all right..." he mumbled to comfort him. "It wasn't 'this' bad, and we   
won," he reminded him.  
  
Of course, he conceded, Xizor hadn't been lenient in his attacks and the side-  
effects of the Emperor's lighting bolts had been growing worse and worse with   
each passing day, but it could have been far worse. After all, he was still in   
one piece, even his right hand although it would have every right to be ruined   
for him.  
  
"I'm all right, Father," he reassured him again when his father's hold didn't   
relax after a while. "Everything is all right, " he comforted him again, this   
time referring to both their past lives and their last challenge.   
  
His father remained silent, still holding him closely to himself... and   
belatedly, it dawned on Luke that something else than worry about him was going   
on.  
  
"What is it?" he asked, his temptation to return to sleep suddenly disappearing   
from his system in the wake of his resurfacing adrenaline.  
  
He gently disengaged from his father's deeper embrace and locked his serious   
gaze with his hidden one.  
  
"I... wish... you didn't have to be involved anymore in the plan," Anakin   
finally admitted. "It still presents very serious dangers... which now have to   
be dealt with."  
  
Luke instantly surmised that they needed his skills again to be successful.  
  
"What happened while I was out cold?" he asked his father while he himself   
straightened in a stable sitting position.  
  
  
  
While he helped his son to stabilize himself, Anakin remained silent, debating   
whether to continue with his semi-lie... or if he told him the whole truth about   
both what turmoil still remained to deal with... and his leaving. He didn't   
want to hurt him again, he thought glumly, nor did he want to bring more   
unhappiness to his son's doorstep... He couldn't tell him right away about his   
sad revelation... but on the other hand, he couldn't not tell him about the   
Royal guards either. However, he decided seriously, he wouldn't prepare to   
leave until the troublemakers were past history; he wouldn't leave trouble in   
his wake for his son to deal with.  
  
Still, he decided to begin with the good news before telling him about the   
remaining threat of the Royal Guards.  
  
"The remaining fleet has pledged its allegiance to us," he began with as much   
pride as he could conjure up in his voice, "The conscripts took care of any   
'true' imperial that might have started a rebellion against us. Nobody outside   
the Empire knows about our victory though."  
  
"You didn't make an announcement yet?" his son gaped in surprise.  
  
Ani shook his head in answer.  
  
"Why?" Luke asked in disbelief.  
  
"I... had to take care of other matters," he answered, eluding the true reason   
behind his decision.  
  
"Which are?" his ever-intelligent son inquired seriously.  
  
"The royal guards," he answered shortly.  
  
Luke shut his eyes in grimness at the mention of the elite group of warriors, a   
feeling which Ani shared wholeheartedly with him; they were both perfectly aware   
of what the opposition was capable of. More than any other group, the Royal   
Guards would be the true resistance to their taking over, and Ani suspected that   
they were armed with the Emperor's secret secrets.  
  
"They have gathered in Wing D of the palace and we can't force them out of   
there."  
  
"It's like a fortress," Luke commented as he opened his eyes once again.  
  
His son's knowledge of what he himself had read in the top secret reports   
surprised him.  
  
"How do you know?" he asked him, then wondered if that was a good idea when he   
noticed his son's wince at the question.  
  
"That's where I was quartered after my summon," he answered shortly.  
  
This revelation drew a shiver of horror from his father.  
  
"What??" he gaped in shock.  
  
"I wasn't involved in biogenetic stuff," the youth quickly reassured him, "but   
that's where I trained harder than ever and learnt the secrets of the Dark   
Side... I was completely isolated from anybody but the Emperor and a few chosen   
ones."  
  
"What did he want with you?" Ani asked him, suddenly having a very bad feeling   
as to what had been going on with his son before he had been uncovered. He still   
remembered Leia's warning; he suddenly had the unpleasant worry that he had   
probably been very far from the truth with his suspicions.  
  
"I don't know," Luke shrugged. "He only told me that I wouldn't care anymore,   
and that training would be the way to focus my mind, but other than that... I   
don't know... although he did tell Xizor that he would take me back in time.   
Anyway, he's dead now," he finished seriously.  
  
"That he is," Ani nodded in agreement even as he tried to shoo from his mind the   
horrific images of his son in the Emperor's control. He forced himself to   
refocus on the matter at hand. "So, in short," he commented as seriously as he   
could manage, "you are the only being alive who ever went in that wing."  
  
"And I know how to infiltrate and destroy," his son agreed somberly; Ani   
instantly noticed that he was intent on convincing him to let him take care of   
this mission. "I know exactly how to deactivate the surveillance system,   
Father," the youth continued earnestly. "I can do it alone, then troops will be   
able to take care of the rest."  
  
At first, Ani wanted to object, to discourage his son from venturing this soon   
into a booby trapped access corridor and its ensuing defense systems, but he was   
too much a hardened warrior to not know the value of what his son was offering   
to him. Without Luke's help, the Royal Guards would remain entrenched for gods   
knew how long.  
  
"Very well," he reluctantly nodded, "but it will wait until you have rested some   
more," he objected seriously, then stood up from the bed as he put an end to   
their impromptu meeting. "I'll prepare the strike team and double the   
surveillance on the level."  
  
"Cutting off their main feed of power will also slow them down," his son   
commented as he laid back on his pillows.  
  
"Very clever," Ani agreed as he helped him down, then stroked his hair from his   
forehead. "Rest now, Luke. The time to return to our world in turmoil will   
come soon enough," he commented sadly, then left him before his son could answer   
him or ask him what he meant.   
  
However, he himself wasn't done with their latest words. On his way out, Ani   
tried to quash the feeling of guilt that was now burning in his heart. He knew   
that he had no choice but to use Luke's help, but he also knew what kind of   
danger he had just brought back in his life... Would it always be this way?, he   
wondered sadly. Would he always be deprived of the possibility to just be a   
good father?... Of course, he conceded, now that Luke knew what they were up   
against, no one, not even him, would be able to keep his son from putting his   
plan into motion. Perhaps he shouldn't have told him about this at all, he   
scolded himself, just like he hadn't, in the end, spoken about the rest of their   
future. The truth would hurt him badly, he sighed sadly; it would be even worse   
than when he had injured him physically. Then, as if it weren't enough, another   
truth slammed into him: his leaving his son would be the worst pains of all now   
that Mara Jade had also left him... He almost shed tears at the thought of   
causing this much emotional grief to his beloved son.  
  
There had to be another way, his heart objected desperately. They had just   
defeated the Emperor, had overcome the whole Empire without 'too' much trouble   
and they were about to set free the rest of the galaxy. Surely he and his son   
could stay together, he tried to convince himself... Surely the Force wouldn't   
be as cruel as to force him away from his child now that they could finally be a   
normal family... but deep down, he knew the truth... As long as 'Vader' would   
be alive, the New Republic would never be born and his son would never be as   
happy as he deserved to be, might not even be forgiven himself, he admitted with   
grief. It would be... the worst day of their lives, he sighed in acceptance,   
but, he objected slightly, he wouldn't tell Luke until it was truly unavoidable.  
  
For the moment, they weren't completely done yet.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
Five hours later, Luke checked his newly-recovered lightsaber and his pocket   
blasters before stashing his weapons in his specially designed utility belt;   
next, he secured a vibro-knife in each of his boots. However, unlike the other   
times that he had prepared for an assassin mission, he didn't cover his features   
yet, nor did he wear gloves or a black uniform.   
  
Instead, he was completely dressed in a heat-insulated white suite, the color's   
purpose being solely to fool the surveillance cameras, and he was going as   
himself, Luke Skywalker formerly known as Luke Vader.   
  
Naturally, he drew more than a few gasps when he joined his father at the edge   
of the surveillance cordon, just out of range of wing's D surveillance devices.  
  
"Remember, don't overexert yourself," his father gently rebuked him.  
  
"I'll give you the signal when the coast is clear," the youth informed him, then   
turned away from him and focused his mind on the first phase of his mission.  
  
Seconds later, gasps came from all around him; he knew that he had just   
disappeared in the Force. Making good use of his temporary shield, he ran all   
the way to the door, then into the white room. Once there, he allowed himself   
to reappear, but not before he put on his white hood and gloves. Thus covered,   
he took a deep breath... then tempted the rancor as he materialized and stepped   
up into the photo sensible security corridor.  
  
Swiftly, he walked past the primed, concealed weapons which were lined-up along   
the two walls. As he walked onward, he tried not to think about the fact that   
the only detail that was saving his life today was that the weapons couldn't   
track him, either physically or through his body temperature, against the white   
backdrop. Otherwise, he knew that they were aware of his presence and would   
open fire on him. He finally reached the internal door without any mishap.  
  
Of course, it didn't open for him, but he had other ways to force it open, he   
thought to himself. Reaching out with the Force, he keyed it open from the   
other side of the wall, then ducked, pulled his vibroblades from his boots, then   
waited for the guards' forcepikes to cross themselves together above him; the   
moment they did, he extended his now armed hands and dispatched the first,   
living opposition. Even as the others reeled from his lightning fast attack, he   
himself rolled away from them and into the second room, which he had already   
opened with the Force, then backflipped from hands to feet and back again to   
avoid the swift, deadly laser rays that replaced the scanning beams when proper   
clearance was granted. Solely focusing on the Force, Luke reached the safety   
zone of the main entrance, still unscathed. There, he flipped back to his feet,   
took hold of his blasters and opened fire on the two still surviving men who   
were struggling against their weakened bodies to either stop him or raise the   
alarm; three shots later and that danger was over.  
  
And now for the main dish, he thought to himself as he stashed one blaster away,   
took his cowl and gloves away, then readied his lightsaber for action. While he   
knew that he wouldn't kill all the royal guards, he steeled himself for quite a   
few unpleasant murders before he would be able to neutralize the surveillance   
system of the renegades. Enjoying a last second of peace, he took a deep   
breath, focused his mind, then opened the door.  
  
As he had surmised, several men in red were already waiting for him in the main   
corridor, ready to defend their murdered master if the traitors ever got past   
the security system. His presence seemed to catch them by surprise, giving him   
a precious two seconds which he exploited to its maximum; he shot at two men and   
attacked a third one with his blade, then lunged forward to meet with the rest   
of his adversaries. He quickly realized that the rumor that the royal guards   
were trained in very similar arts to his owns was indeed true. Hence, he didn't   
waste time in useless contest and dealt with them the moment that he had a   
chance to do so.  
  
Between kicks, slashes, parries of other lightsabers and rolling away from too   
accurate aims, Luke took care of nearly half of the fifteen men who had seen his   
entrance. The peculiar thing about this battle though was that unlike when he   
had fought against thieves or outlaws, he didn't have time to think this time.  
Instead, he had to trust the Force to save his life... and it did.   
  
He jumped yet again, sharply extended his foot while airborn, thus catching   
another man in the throat--- while he swept downward with his bladed right hand   
and badly injured two other men. When he landed back on his feet, he recovered   
his complete awareness--- and became aware that he was finished here. He   
instantly rushed toward the door that seemed to call to him, prepared himself   
for yet another demanding fight--- and stormed in the control room, firing from   
both of his blasters at the few enemies who had been waiting for him.   
Fortunately for him, the close quarters played against them; they were caught in   
the ricochets of his skillfully 'wrongly aimed' shots. However, the small   
quarters equally played against him.  
  
Despite his swift changes of position which brought him from a roll on the floor   
to a tumble in the air and back again, the enemy managed to nail him in the left   
thigh before he had finished the three men.  
  
  
  
  
In the main corridor, Anakin winced as he felt his son's newest injury and   
barely restrained himself from going to his help, but his ensuing victory   
stilled him. Then, he received the signal that the surveillance system was out;   
the moment that he gave his order, his troops charged the small door and invaded   
what had been, up to now, the secret labs of the Emperor.  
  
He too took part to the rest of the battle, dealing with the lightsaber-armed   
imperials while he left the more regular guards to the volunteers.  
  
After the first five minutes of battle though, he understood that this would be   
trickier than he had first surmised. The enemy had discovered the Emperor's   
secrets and were using them against them. Thus, the volunteers found themselves   
fighting against furious royal guards 'and' venomous plants, or animals... or   
even sentient beings.  
  
He himself attracted the attention of a huge vornsk. As he fought against it,   
he wryly reflected that the new strength/growth agent was definitely a success,   
then barely avoided the snapping jaw that would have taken off his head. He   
slashed again at one paw with his lightsaber; it barely affected the animal.  
It continued its steady advance on him, slowly backing him toward a wall. Ani   
reached out again, more and more desperate to find a weak point in the monster   
to attack, but either by design or from nature, the creature was immunized   
against even his Force attack.  
  
He kicked out again, hitting its nose this time before looking for a vulnerable   
place to use his lightsaber, but the other didn't give him time to find it.  
Instead, it reared its head in anger, catching him straight in the side, and   
slammed him hard against the wall that was now very close in his back. Anakin   
crumpled to the floor, thoroughly dazed.  
  
He was so dazed that he didn't realize that his lightsaber had just been plucked   
from his hand--- until a sudden howl of pain brought him back to a more aware   
status.  
  
  
  
  
Luke finished to slash all the controls around him, thus making sure that the   
experiments which depended on them would die within the next minutes, then he   
exited the small room. The battle was raging around him. Everywhere he looked,   
he saw white armored troopers against one or two red-clad enemies, or against   
abominations, which the others had freed to fight against the traitors.  
  
Suddenly, a wave of pain entered his mind; it was coming from his father. He   
frantically searched for him amongst the confusing, fighting crowd--- and   
spotted him, at the end of the corridor, backed to the wall by a huge quadruped.  
He was done for, he realized even as he ignored his own lancing injury and ran   
to his help. He thus witnessed the animal's attack when it slammed his father   
into the wall, then prepared for the kill. Luke didn't think anymore; he acted.  
  
Calling his father's lightsaber to his hand, he gathered his strength in his   
legs---- and jumped and tumbled in the air, catching his second weapon as he did   
so. A second later, he was in position; he straddled the back of the huge   
beast, his two lightsabers ready for the kill. Before the creature had become   
aware of his presence, he planted his two blades in his back, then twisted.  
  
The poor creature howled in anguish and torment, rearing itself on its back paws   
to throw him off of itself; it thus nearly slammed him against the nearby   
ceiling, but Luke held on, steadying himself with the Force as he stabbed it   
again.  
  
Finally, the vornsk gave out a last moan, then collapsed on its side and died.  
Meanwhile, Luke had barely landed back on the floor when a new warning came to   
him; he whirled around, his father's blade still armed and ready in his hand; he   
reflexively threw it. Unlike his smaller blades, this one twirled on its   
horizontal axis before it slashed at the venomous plant which had identified him   
as its next victim.  
  
When no new danger tingled his senses, Luke allowed himself to relax slightly.  
His father appeared beside him and scanned the ongoing battle. Several   
volunteers had lost their lives, but they had won. The royal guards and their   
'weapons' were either out of the fight... or dead.  
  
"Now we've won," he sighed in relief, then turned toward his father.  
  
"Thanks to you," the other commented warmly, drawing him closer to himself via   
an arm around his shoulders.  
  
Luke gratefully leaned against the giant, taking some weight off his injured   
thigh.  
  
"I never want to kill again," he mumbled reflexively before he had realized what   
he was saying.  
  
"And you never shall," his father reassured him. "With your wisdom as galactic   
guidance, there won't be need for it anymore," he added softly.  
  
While the comment slightly surprised Luke, he didn't reply. He was battle   
weary, and despite the Emperor's rigorous training of the past weeks, he hadn't   
been completely up to such strenuous exercise just yet. He was tired, he   
admitted.  
  
Around them, the volunteers sealed the labs, then set the demolition charges.  
Soon, he reflected in relief, nothing would remain of the Emperor's dark plans   
for the universe.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Once the area of the palace known as Wing D was safely destroyed while not   
ruining the rest of the said palace, Luke and his father retired to their   
temporary quarters some fifty floors below the location of their latest victory.  
  
Unfortunately, Ani sighed to himself, what 'had' to come next wasn't a victory   
at all... Now that the action was over, he knew that it was time to inform his   
son of the most awful decision he had ever made in his entire life. He knew   
without doubts now that he had to disappear from the future New Republic or else   
it would never come to be; throughout the past seven hours, he had been more   
feared as the cruel Lord Vader, Father, then he had ever been aware of. Even if   
he could still accept the feeling as being unavoidable, he wouldn't be able to   
stay, he thought glumly; to succeed, he and his son had to kill the Empire...   
and every symbol of it.  
  
He was all too aware that he was such a symbol, curse his dreadful   
armor/survival suit! If only he hadn't been this naive, way back when, he   
scolded himself, then caught his thoughts and rebuked himself for crying over   
the past. It was too late to change it, and he knew what he had to do to make   
the future a better place for everyone... but foremost, for his son.   
  
Pulling himself from his regretful thoughts, he refocused on the young man as he   
helped him bandage his thigh injury.  
  
"We won't be able to keep our coup secret much longer, Father," the youth   
commented in the silence. "I think we should inform as soon as possible the   
rest of the galaxy of their freedom."  
  
Ani nodded in agreement. "I arranged for a priority one broadcast tomorrow," he   
began seriously even as he finished his tending and stood back to his feet.  
  
Luke silently expressed his pleasant surprise upon hearing those news.   
"Excellent, we couldn't have delayed it much more anyway," the young man   
commented. "Do you know what you will tell them?" he then asked his father.  
  
Ani remained silent, then sighed while he closed the emergency medkit which was   
beside his son; he had to tell him, he steeled himself. No more lies this time.  
  
"Actually, Son," he began sadly as he slowly turned back toward him to gaze into   
his eyes, "'you' will speak to the galaxy tomorrow."  
  
"Me?" the youth gaped as he gazed up at him and locked his eyes with his.   
  
Ani nodded in confirmation, then straightened up.  
  
"But I don't have any experience in politics," his son argued instantly. "I   
don't have 'your' experience," he then added earnestly. "We need you, Father.   
You should be the----"  
  
"No," he shook his head, then slowly paced nearby.   
  
Luke followed him with his eyes, speechless and more than a little confused.   
While they had never really discussed their plans as to who would do what once   
they won, Ani conceded that they had constantly implied that he himself would   
take care of the politics... Once again though, he had been too naive for his   
own good and hadn't considered the emotional impact he would have on the   
citizens of the galaxy.  
  
"I've thought a lot about this, Son," he admitted, feeling a pang of regret   
tighten around his heart; Luke remained silent but his eyes told him that he was   
beginning to understand where he wanted to go with his next sentences. "I have   
reached the conclusion that I can't stay in the new government," the older Jedi   
told him glumly. All this work to free themselves from the Dark Side, he   
thought sadly, only to be separate once again... He resumed his pacing.  
  
  
  
It wasn't fair, Luke thought in instant resent.  
  
"That's ridiculous," he finally commented out loud even as he moved to get back   
to his feet and face his father.  
  
The man's hand appeared on his shoulder and stilled him, silently admonishing   
him for putting a strain on his healing wound.  
  
"It isn't," he answered him, then sighed as he let go of his shoulder. "You can   
see for yourself what is going on," he then reminded him seriously. "The Empire   
is dead, and every reminder of it is being, or will soon be destroyed... I am   
part of those reminders, Son."  
  
"So am I," he argued defiantly.  
  
His father shook his head sadly.  
  
"Your address will establish you as Luke Skywalker, my son, a young, exceptional   
human man who was enslaved and is now free, but I..." he hesitated slightly,   
then fought past the catch in his throat to speak: "will always be Darth Vader,"   
he finished glumly.  
  
"No you're not," Luke argued, jumping to his feet before his father could catch   
him. "We can do something about the armor, Father. There's no need for you---"   
he began earnestly but was interrupted by his father's upset voice.  
  
"I will not be naive again, Luke," the older man objected strongly. "You can   
change the armor, but unless I can be Anakin as a whole, I will always remain   
Vader".  
  
Luke was so shocked by his father's sudden temper that he forgot his upcoming   
argument.  
  
In front of him, his father seemed to catch his breath after his outburst, then   
reached out and mentally caressed his cheek and mind. " I... don't want to ruin   
your future," he told him more softly.  
  
"No, father, please...," Luke begged as he recovered his ability to speak. He   
limped closer to the black-cloaked giant. "I can't do it alone. I need you."  
  
Anakin shook his head at him in answer, then gently rested his gloved hand   
against his cheek, very much like what he had done just seconds before but with   
the Force.  
  
"You don't need me, Luke Skywalker," the ex-dark lord of the Sith reassured him   
softly, rubbing away a tear which had slipped from the corner of the youth's   
eye. "Everything you need to succeed is in you... my child, my precious boy who   
has already done much, much more than humanly possible..."  
  
Suddenly, Luke felt as if he were back in time, when his father had told him the   
truth about his parentage. Once again, he was a little, tough yet fragile boy,   
and he didn't want his father to leave him.  
  
Mara was enough---  
  
"Please, Father," he begged again, allowing his tears to spill free from his   
eyes.   
  
"I'm sorry, Luke," his father apologized as he stepped slightly away from him.   
"I have to go; it is the best for all of us."  
  
"But why right now?" the youth insisted, taking a step forward once again and   
clutched his forearm. "Father, we've barely won, and we've barely had time to   
be together. You could at least stay for---"  
  
  
  
Aware that his son's heartfelt pleading might just sway his heart, Anakin cut   
him off before he could tempt him with the impossible happiness that they had   
promised each other while they had been surviving the nightmare of the Dark   
Side.  
  
I must go, Luke, and I have to disappear before your first contact with the rest   
of the galaxy as Luke Skywalker. If I stay, everything you will say will be   
taken as a lie," he answered seriously, then softened slightly. "You're a grown   
man now, Luke; you don't need your father looking over your shoulder to succeed   
in life," he commented, reminding him that he was not a child anymore.  
  
"But it was supposed to be 'our' new lives, Father, not just mine," the youth   
argued earnestly, new tears slipping out of his eyes.  
  
The mere sight of those broke Ani's heart into even more numerous pieces; why   
couldn't it be like they had foreseen?, he asked the unseen Force. Why did he   
have to hurt his son once again?.. Then an answer seem to float up from his   
deeper self: because he himself deserved the pain of having to give him up like   
this... because of his unforgivable mistakes of the past.   
  
'But it hurts my son,' he objected to the thought, to which it answered almost   
instantly; only for the moment. He would be happier once he were completely out   
of his life until he had earned the right to return to him... Despite the   
difficulty of the sentence, and convinced that it was coming from the Force   
itself, Ani accepted it as his due for his crimes. He only wished that Luke   
wouldn't have to be hurt by it.  
  
"There is no other way to insure the success of the plan," Anakin finally   
commented softly in the silence as he made the grieving boy look up at him; he   
brushed away more tears from his son's eyes.  
  
"Will I see you again?" he asked sadly, locking his beautiful blue eyes onto his   
hidden blue eyes.  
  
Anakin, who had almost completely convinced himself that he had accepted his   
fate and couldn't let his son sway him---- suddenly felt his resolve falter as   
the past came back to him.  
  
He had asked that very same question to his mother, way back when... And her   
answer had offered him the only comfort that he could have had at that time, he   
remembered. And indeed, he reminded himself more hopefully, he had seen her   
again, years later.  
  
"What does your heart tell you?" he asked his son as gently as his mother had   
done with him.  
  
Luke took a moment to ponder his question, then he reluctantly nodded, hiding   
once again his tears of regret.   
  
"Then we will see each other again," he reassured him even as he promised   
himself that he would find a way to return to his son. Somehow, he 'would' get   
rid of the armor, atone himself for his crimes, and would be a father to his   
son, a real one this time. "Now, Luke, be strong," he told him softly, "and   
give me a last hug for a while."  
  
His son was only too glad to abide; he hugged him so tight that he himself felt   
his strength despite the fact that he was wearing an armor.  
  
"Where will you go?" his son asked him, his despair now cracking into his voice.  
  
"I don't know yet," he answered truthfully, "but I will someday come back to   
you, I promise." He pulled his son's head away from his chest at that and gazed   
deeply into his blue eyes. "However, you must promise me to not search me out   
until I return to you," he added more seriously.  
  
"I... okay," Luke nodded reluctantly.   
  
The two of them hugged one very last time, then Ani disengaged from their   
embrace and stepped away from his beloved son, whom he could now love without   
any fear of putting him into trouble. However, he accepted reluctantly, he   
would have to love him from a distance for the time being.  
  
"Take good care of yourself in my absence, Son," he advised him gently, then   
added: "I will keep an eye on your achievement."  
  
  
  
Luke was too tear-stricken to answer; he barely nodded, then kept himself from   
going to him one last time. If he could take care of several royal guards who   
wanted to kill him, he suddenly thought in despair, surely he could keep his   
father from leaving him---- but, he moderated himself, he unfortunately   
recognized the wisdom behind his father's words. They had no choice but to   
sacrifice their closeness if they wanted to get rid of the Empire for good.  
  
Still, he reflected with resent, his father deserved to share their victory and   
freedom with him, not in self-imposed exile from everyone.   
  
Couldn't things be simple for once?, he asked the unseen Force, then looked   
around himself to see if his sister was with him. Only blank walls stared back   
at him. He was truly alone this time, he realized as he turned back toward his   
leaving father--- who had already reached the door.  
  
"Anakin!" he called, reflexively taking a step closer to him--- and hissed as   
his wounded leg strained to keep him from falling down.   
  
His father stopped, but he didn't turn around to look at him.  
  
"Everything you need to succeed for yourself and the galaxy rests within you,   
Son. I will miss you... but I have to leave for the moment," he finished   
regretfully, then straightened his shoulders and stepped into detection range of   
the sliding doors.  
  
Then he was gone... and Luke was alone.  
  
"Father," he whispered sadly as he crumpled to the floor, devoid of any energy   
to go on.  
  
Leia was gone.  
  
Mara was gone.  
  
His father was gone.  
  
And now even his sister's spirit seemed to have abandoned him... How was he   
supposed to go on?, he wailed silently, then buried his face in his hands and   
let out all the tears of his body until he fell asleep from his sorrow and   
grief.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Still with him, but unable to connect with the realm of the living for the time   
being, Leia exchanged a sad glance with her mother. Everything was in Luke's   
hands now; his strength of character would determine if the future would   
continue to unfurl toward a brighter tomorrow... or if the new hope would falter   
and die once again.  
  
"Courage, Luke," she bid him even though he couldn't hear her. "You can do it;   
you're our only hope."  
  
"Things will work out, Son," Padme added, obviously taking a chance that her   
son's subconscious would pick up on their encouragement. "You must be strong."  
  
In the realm of the living, the young Jedi remained unresponsive as he laid in   
an awkward curl on the carpet of his temporary quarters.  
  
  
  
  
TBC In part 2: Alone  
  
  
  
SJ: Skyjade@globetrotter.net (any positive stuff is welcome, but negative or   
mean comments will be thrown down the Sarlacc's throat without being read.) 


	37. A Whole New Life 2: Alone

A Whole New Life  
Part 2: Alone  
By SJ 12-23-01/ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
  
The next day, Luke reluctantly walked closer and closer to his destination: the   
transmission room where the galaxy-wide broadcast would take place. After   
waking up on the carpet of his temporary quarters, he had first laid as if in a   
trance for a long, long while, trying to become one with the gnawing emptiness   
which he had felt in his heart and whole self, then, when it had been obvious   
that he wouldn't succeed, had weakly pushed himself into a more orthodox   
position.  
  
At first, he had only focused his energies on his still-injured thigh, then,   
once this had been dealt with, he hadn't had any other excuses to not consider   
the future for real.  
  
And he had made his choice.  
  
He had gone this far already, he sternly reminded himself as he felt yet another   
wave of doubt invade him; he wouldn't stop now, he resolved and slapped the wave   
away with a new dose of courage. He stepped into the transmission room.   
Normally, he would have expected the technicians to bow their heads to him, then   
avoid his gaze, but this time, he didn't, nor did they act so, he soon realized.  
  
Instead of treating him like his former self, they stared at him in shock or   
surprise. Well, he conceded, he had rid himself of his black-leather uniforms   
and with the help of a sewer droid, had created a new look for himself; it was   
as remotely different as it could from his Dark Lord wardrobe.  
  
Hence, he was now wearing a suit composed by dark blue, almost black trousers, a   
white shirt and a color-matched sport jacket; his lightsaber completed his   
outfit with just enough formality to maintain his authority while not reminding   
anybody of his dark past. In short, it was his first official day as Luke   
Skywalker, the young man who would be in charge of the galaxy for the time   
being.  
  
"My... Lord," the warder for the broadcast finally welcomed him.  
  
Luke didn't rebuke the man for his shock, nor his former address. Instead, he   
went straight to the point of his presence in the room. "Sir, is it possible to   
broadcast from the throne room?" he asked politely, returning the bow with a   
short one.  
  
The others men gaped even more at him before one of them answered him.  
  
"We can set up a relay between there and here, my Lord," he explained as fast as   
he could.  
  
"Please do," Luke answered, then turned to leave. "Inform me when it will be   
ready for broadcast," he requested gently.  
  
"Yes, my Lord," the others answered in chorus, then he was gone.  
  
He had some things to prepare before he could address the now-freed population.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Although Mara Jade had meant to leave Coruscant after the destruction of her   
master, she was still there, unable to bring herself to climb aboard one of the   
hidden ships on the planet.  
  
She couldn't leave Luke. No matter how hard she had argued with herself, and   
how many times she had had flashes of the Emperor's death, she couldn't be   
strong and do what she had to do. Instead, she was still hanging in the streets   
of Coruscant, guzzling down yet another glass of Juri juice.  
  
She had been tempted to go for alcohol this time, she admitted to herself as she   
gazed at the bottom of her empty glass, but she knew better than to muzzle her   
mind in such peculiar times. Hence, she had decided to satisfy her sweet tooth   
until she had no spare money left.   
  
What had happened to her lover?, she wondered for the hundredth time since her   
parting with him. They had been happy, in love, and content to do the Master's   
bidding. He had even fulfilled his dream and stepped out of secrecy to become   
Lord Vader The Second. It was what he had always wanted, she wanted to argue   
with him, hell shake into him if he were sitting in front of her. Ever since   
she had met him, he had yearned for more, for his father, for a freedom of   
action and he had gotten everything... only to destroy the man who had given it   
to him, she sneered to herself, then slapped her glass on the table.  
  
And what about Vader--- the First?, she wondered angrily. What was his role in   
all this? Had he taken on the Emperor because Luke would be with him anyway?   
or had they both been against him, fomenting that plan of theirs for years?   
And why had she felt so much disgusting Light while in the throne room?, she   
asked herself, then motioned sharply to the nearby waitress.  
  
The light-purple alien girl barely acknowledged her order before she disappeared   
in the crowd.   
  
"Hey, darling?" a slurry voice suddenly attracted her angry attention.  
  
She barely glanced up--- just in time to see a burly man take hold of the chair   
that was in front of her at her table.  
  
"You seem a little lo---"  
  
Mara's foot instantly appeared on the chair, pinning it back on the floor and   
keeping the other from sitting on it.  
  
"Get moving big boy," she growled without giving him a glance, then added lowly:   
"if you know what's best for you."  
  
As if to support her claim, she bent her left arm and rested her elbow on the   
table, then flicked her wrist. Her pocket blaster slapped into her hand; the   
other scurried away without anymore warning. Sighing in annoyance, she laid her   
weapon on the table and gazed at it.  
  
Luke had one exactly like hers, wrist holster and everything. They were the   
same, she thought seriously. They both loved action, each other, and to serve   
the Emperor, and they both hated whoever was against the Emperor... So what had   
gone wrong all of a sudden, she wondered as she looked up to pay for her new   
glass of juice--- She gasped in shock as she saw the image on the holovid that   
was on the wall behind the waitress.   
  
Framed in front of the Emperor's throne and his favorite viewport was Luke...   
but not the Luke she knew. He looked... like a Rebel, she thought in   
disbelief. While she tried to understand what it meant, someone had the genius   
idea to raise the volume while the others shushed to hear the broadcast. Mara   
absently paid her drink then settled in to listen to her lover's announcement.  
  
  
  
  
Up in the throne room, Luke waited another twenty seconds for everyone to notice   
the priority one broadcast and gather around the closest holovid screen.  
  
"Citizens of the Republic," he began solemnly, his hands locked behind his back   
to hide his stress. "my name is Luke Skywalker... formerly known as Lord Luke   
Vader... slave of Emperor Palpatine."  
  
  
  
  
While Mara felt her jaw hit the top of her table due to her utter disbelief,   
people around her made disobliging comments about what Luke had just said.  
  
"What has gotten into the Kid this time?" one asked.   
  
"Daddy won't like it," his companion smirked meanly.  
  
"A slave with the power to rule, right... Does he think that we're stupid?"   
another sneered as he turned away from the screen.  
  
Before Mara could answer or add to the comments, Luke continued.  
  
"I am aware that my last statement might sound foolish, even preposterous to   
most of you, but nonetheless, Palpatine had enslaved my soul with his dark   
powers... just as he had tried to do with the rest of the Empire, but now we're   
all free," he finished solemnly.  
  
A silence charged with doubt and wariness suddenly invaded the bar, the   
street... and the whole galaxy.  
  
  
  
  
"From this day on, the Republic shall be re-instituted," Luke continued, his   
words coming more smoothly to him now that he 'knew' that he had everyone's   
attention. "The only crimes that will be punished will be those against all   
forms of lives in our universe. The Empire is dead, both here and everywhere in   
the galaxy," he said more explicitly. "As of yesterday, all the conscripts have   
been freed from their compulsory engagement in the Fleet or the army and are   
free to return home, but several of them have already signified their intention   
to remain and become guardians of peace and justice throughout the known   
universe. However, they will always be allowed to leave whenever they choose."  
He took a deep breath, then stepped closer to the empty throne. "My father, who   
has fallen during the battle, and myself, were the spearhead of our collective   
escape/rescue," he told the registering device. "While we hope that it will   
begin to make up for the horrors that we wrought in your lives, we were and I am   
still very much aware that nothing will ever replace the ones you lost because   
of the Empire... of the Lord Vaders and their Emperor... However, as a Jedi   
Knight,"  
  
  
  
  
"I make the solemn pledge to dedicate the rest of my life to you all and to true   
peace in each of your homes as well as on each known planet," Luke continued   
earnestly. "Throughout the next weeks, procedures will begin to reinstate the   
Senate which will, hopefully, continue what happened yesterday. I give you my   
word that no more tyranny will rule us."  
  
Mara was still stricken, unable to compute what she was seeing with what she   
knew. Luke wanting to kill the Emperor was one thing, but completely turning to   
the Light and going against everything that they had ever learnt... She   
couldn't think of anything to say.  
  
On the screen, her lover suddenly pulled his lightsaber from his belt and   
activated it; its emerald-green blade stole the spotlight.  
  
"The Empire is dead," he said with a new voice, the voice of compassion and   
dedication to others, she realized. "Long live the Republic!"  
  
And with that, he swiftly slashed the Emperor's throne in four pieces--- and   
cheers went up everywhere around her and farther away.  
  
Mara remained silent, stunned.  
  
Luke had turned to the Light. His sister had indeed managed to corrupt him...   
stealing him from her forever. Strangely though, she dimly reflected that she   
didn't resent the fact that the galaxy was now free from the Empire; she knew   
all too well that bad things had been done to them.  
  
However, she did resent what had been done to her life; it had just been   
sacrificed on the altar of galactic freedom. And Vader? she wondered as she   
stood up and left the quickly growing revelry of a newly-freed population. Luke   
had said that he had fallen, but she knew that he hadn't. He had killed the   
Emperor; he had survived the attack... so where was he now? Why hadn't he taken   
part to the announcement? It was not typical that Luke, the youngest and less   
experienced of the two, was the one to take over the government. There was   
something else under all this, she decided as she strolled down the suddenly   
crowded streets, and she would find out the rest of the truth.  
  
While she scrunched up her shoulders and tried to plow through the celebrating   
crowd, people around her kissed, cheered, played music, drank or ate... and even   
offered their products for free to people around themselves. It was chaos, she   
reflected grimly; she herself was now more than ever set on her course of   
action.  
  
She walked on toward Vader's palace.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
After his triumphant announcement, Luke left orders to keep security tight   
everywhere in the galaxy to be ready for any bad reactions from remaining   
imperial elements, then boarded his shuttle and went up aboard the Annihilator;   
the huge ship had arrived just before his broadcast. Unlike usually, Luke   
piloted his shuttle himself, using the time spent in flying to reconsider his   
upcoming decisions.  
  
The secret was out, which meant that while it was now at the basis of a majority   
of celebrations of relief and happiness, he himself was aware that he had also   
steered quite a few hornets here and there. He knew that both the families of   
the imperials who had been killed during the coup as well as the organizations   
which had profited from the tyranny would seek revenge, if not against him, then   
against the regular populace. They would have to be alert for a long while, he   
sighed in acceptation.  
  
He then began his approach to the hangar bay--- and felt his eyes widen in   
surprise as he saw the number of troops who had gathered to welcome him.   
Whereas they would normally be a few squads at the most, the whole ship seemed   
to have gathered in perfect, orderly rows, waiting for him. As if he were   
Emperor, he suddenly reflected with unease. He hurried to shut down his ship,   
then braced himself and walked down the ramp of the shuttle. Admiral Piett and   
his subordinates bowed their heads in respect.   
  
"Congratulations on your victory, my Lord," he said formally.  
  
"Thank you, Admiral. There is no need for this anymore, at ease please," he   
requested before he waited for him to straighten up once again. "We must   
establish a strategy to insure safety in as many sectors as we can."  
  
"Yes... Sir," the other nodded, then followed him.  
  
Behind them, the other officers fell in step even as the troops snapped to a   
saluting posture.  
  
At first, Luke tried to ignore the meaning of the demonstration, then decided   
that he had to make his point with his chosen admiral. "When I will return to   
Coruscant," he half-whispered as he leaned closer to the older man, "please   
inform the troops that those drills aren't necessary anymore."  
  
"It isn't a drill, Sir," Piett answered, a slight surprise cutting into his   
voice.  
  
"It's not?" Luke frowned as he gazed around himself.  
  
"Not today, Sir. They are merely showing you the respect that you have earned   
with your daringness."  
  
"Oh," the youth nodded in confusion, then fell silent.  
  
Respect? Him? Not after the horror he was responsible for, he reflected dimly,   
then sighed. There would be more elements to consider than he had first   
estimated, he admitted to himself.  
  
"Did you contact the rest of the fleet?" he inquired seriously, changing   
subject.  
  
"They are waiting for your transmission, Sir," his admiral answered smoothly as   
they continued down the aisle of troops and regular crew.  
  
Just one more proof, Luke thought in relief, that he could count on the   
remaining troops.  
  
  
  
  
Once in the meeting/communication room, he stood at the end of the strategy   
table while his officers from the Annihilator/Freedom sat at the nearby table.   
Behind them, small screens allowed him to see the commanding officer of each   
remaining ship of the fleet. They all waited for him to speak up.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen," Luke began, acknowledging for the first time the newly   
nominated female officers of a few ships, "I have gathered you today to discuss   
the future."  
  
His audience nodded silently in understanding.  
  
"I'm certain that you are aware of the danger that looms over the newly-freed   
population: revenge from a new, far more dangerous rebellion than the one that   
the Emperor fought," he continued grimly.   
  
Once again, his message got through.   
  
"While we still have seventy-five ships at our disposal to insure peace, we will   
need to cover more sectors than we have ships. I am open to suggestions," he   
finished, spreading his arms in a welcoming gesture.   
  
"We will clearly need to dispatch small patrols or even intervention groups, my   
Lord," a first commander answered him.  
  
"I am only a military officer now, Commander Mota," he informed the older man   
even as he nodded at his suggestion and entered it in the strategy table.  
  
Behind him, blue dots of allies spread all over the place, but the computer   
estimated that they wouldn't be numerous enough if trouble truly broke out.  
  
"What about the local authorities, Sir?" Piett inquired, both to offer a   
suggestion and give an example of his new, preferred address. "Can we trust   
them?"  
  
"Some of them, yes, others no," he answered grimly.  
  
A silence stretched in the room, then slowly, more suggestions were brought in   
and considered.  
  
  
  
  
Two hours and half later, Luke retired to his quarters, satisfied with the   
knowledge that his chosen officers would do everything that they could to   
protect the regular citizens. While he briefly sat on the steps of his former   
meditation/control desk, he reflected that the addition of women in the line of   
command had brought new perspectives and wisdom in the up-to-now male   
strategies. The suggestion to combine all their best strategies into a single   
one had been a woman's, he remembered with a small smile, and it had been the   
best that he could have asked for. Now it remained to be seen if it would be up   
to the undoubtedly upcoming challenge.  
  
He was starting another train of thoughts when he felt a presence coming nearby;   
he straightened up, then welcomed Admiral Piett. When he had considered his   
chain of command, Luke had studied his choices very carefully, and had   
eventually decided to leave Piett as his first man on the field.  
  
Piett, although younger than the average admirals and a conscript at the basis,   
had demonstrated that he was gifted with a quick mind, a certain independence   
which allowed him to adapt to emergencies without the need for approval from   
superiors, and he had never hurt anyone except when he didn't have any other   
choice.  
  
"Admiral," Luke welcomed him.  
  
"Sir," the other saluted, then stood rigidly in front of him.  
  
"At ease, Sir," the young Jedi commented as he stood closer to him.   
  
Since Piett didn't know why he had been summoned in the private quarters of the   
ex-lord, he threw his ex-lord a barely hidden curious gaze as he obeyed him.  
Luke decided to not make him languish.  
  
"You are a good man, Piett," he began seriously, locking his gaze with the   
other's. "You would never endanger the lives of the troops anymore than   
necessary, and I know that you have volunteered to stay with the Fleet, I quote:   
"to serve and protect,"," he continued with a note of approval in his voice.  
  
Given the slight widening of Piett's eyes upon hearing his note on his latest   
report, Luke knew that the other was surprised to discover that he had, indeed,   
read all the reports.  
  
"I accept your offer, Admiral," he told him solemnly, then added: "You will   
remain in charge of the Freedom as well as of the whole fleet and army when I   
won't be nearby to oversee it."  
  
"Sir?" the other finally gaped in disbelief.   
  
"You may choose other officers to help you keep good and efficient control over   
the remnants of the military, Admiral, and you may name them as you see fit.   
Your authority won't be challenged given your unchanged status in the chain of   
command. I trust you to make choices that will always be for the benefit of the   
larger population," he continued earnestly.  
  
Even if his blind trust in him shocked him, Piett still managed to retain some   
kind of composure. Except for his eyes.  
  
"I... will be worthy of your trust, Sir," he answered, reflexively snapping a   
salute once again.   
  
"I will still contact you to see how things are going, but you will be   
autonomous out there, Sir."  
  
"I understand, Sir," he answered, saluting again for lack of any other proper   
etiquette in mind.  
  
Luke however was beginning to become annoyed by this.  
  
"One more thing," he added in a gentler tone. "While I understand that the army   
needs drills to work properly, I will ask of you to change everything that was   
related to the imperial service and etiquette. They will only hamper the   
transition of the military units into volunteers units."  
  
"Yes, Sir," he saluted, then dropped his hand to his side.  
  
While it wasn't exactly what he wanted, Luke conceded that it was a beginning.  
  
"Now, I believe you have work to do, Admiral," he dismissed him with a light   
smirk to try and lighten the mood.  
  
"Yes... Sir. Thank you, Sir," the other nodded, caught once again by surprise   
by his human attitudes.  
  
However, he didn't let himself be distracted by it. Instead, he snapped his   
heels, then turned around and left the room. With time perhaps, Luke sighed to   
himself as he turned away and entered the secret part of his quarters. Soon,   
they wouldn't be secret anymore, he decided as he headed straight for his office   
and the secret hangar under them.  
  
  
  
  
Twenty minutes later, he was back on the main level of his quarters, leaving his   
construction droid to begin its remodeling work. The next time that he would   
enter his quarters, he knew that they wouldn't be the same; they wouldn't remind   
him of his dark past anymore.  
  
Before he returned on Coruscant however, he wanted to retrieve a few items from   
the doomed quarters. Hence, he went into his library/study room and stashed his   
real, leather-bound books into a backpack, then entered his bed room. There,   
exactly where he had left them before leaving for Coruscant, were his father's   
old lightsaber and his mother's pendant. Back when his father had given it to   
him, he had meant to give the weapon to his sister... when she would have been   
'worthy', he sneered in disgust at his old self.   
  
What a fool he had been to think that he knew what was better for her... Had he   
succeeded, he admitted shamefully as he slowly pulled the turned-off weapon from   
its hiding place in his night table, he would have ruined her life... her   
happiness. And Force knew how close he had been to turning her, he shivered and   
closed his eyes in horror. He had been way to good at that, he admitted, then   
shook himself free of the memories of his dark victories. He would never go   
down that path ever again; no matter how intoxicating the power that he had felt   
was, he would never, ever give in again.  
  
He would never hurt anyone anymore, he resolved once again with determination,   
then locked his gaze on his father's lightsaber. This was the weapon of a Jedi;   
it had been crafted by a heart filled with love and hopes... Its blade seemed to   
sing with those feelings, he reflected more wistfully as he turned it on to   
admire its craft once again. The electric blue blade was as pure as ever,   
untainted by any darkness nor blood... Perhaps, he thought more seriously, he   
should make himself a new weapon---   
  
Suddenly, as if on its own volition, his free hand took hold of his own weapon   
and turned it on, setting its brilliant green blade side by side with his   
father's former blade. At first stunned by his unexplainable action, Luke   
failed to understand what it meant--- until his eyes finally rested on the two   
blades. Both were so bright that he had trouble not to be dazzled by them; both   
were also untainted in any way, and both were colors which were the opposite of   
what he used to be.  
  
He had never been a Dark Lord, he slowly gaped in awe as the deeper meaning of   
his observation reached his mind. Even as a child, he had never willingly   
chosen the Dark Side. He hadn't been given a choice, and as such, his Light had   
always been there... if dangerously threatened of extinction when he had reached   
sixteen years old, he remembered as those years of frustration and almost   
constant anger came back to him. But they were gone now, he thought seriously   
as he shut down both weapons; his dangerous grief for his sister was also over,   
and he himself had finally been able to freely 'choose' a side.  
  
He was a Jedi Knight, he thought with more insurance, and he didn't have to fear   
his past; it was merely hiding the truth from him. With that decided, he   
clipped his own weapon back to his belt, then bent down again and retrieved his   
mother's pendant.  
  
The wooden jewelry and his father's lightsaber were the only things that he had   
left from his parents, bringing home once again how alone he was all of a   
sudden... but also reinforcing his determination to succeed so that their old   
dream could come true. He gazed at the items one last time, then attached his   
father's lightsaber to his belt beside his own and stashed his mother's pendant   
in his breast pocket.  
  
He had some work to do now.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Back in his father's castle on Coruscant, he spent the following five hours   
thinking about ways to take his current enterprise a step further.  
  
However, it was much, much more complex than he had first thought.  
  
He finally turned away from the gathered cards, then reflexively retrieved his   
mother's pendant from his desktop. He somehow had the feeling that his only   
link with his mother, who had been the youngest and greatest politician ever in   
the universe, would help him conjure up a workable strategy to avoid the   
mistakes of the past... but it hadn't happened yet.  
  
Sighing tiredly, he stood up and went by the huge bay window which was giving   
him an unobstructed view of Coruscant at night. If only the trinket could   
somehow imbue him with the famed wisdom of his mother, he thought wistfully...   
or else bring Leia back with him if only in the spiritual plane... He was not a   
politician, he thought in mild frustration. When his father and himself had   
discussed the future, Anakin had planned to be with him, to take care of the   
rebuilding of the Senate while he himself would oversee the military transition   
of the Fleet and army.   
  
He simply had no idea how to proceed to reinstate the Senate. He knew why the   
old Senate had fallen, why things had turned extremely bad for every one, but he   
himself, despite all his good faith and experience in life, couldn't set up a   
new Senate without risking the same problems. If a new Emperor wouldn't rise   
from this new attempt, then the welfare of the galaxy would soon go unheard by   
the chosen politicians.   
  
Once again overcame by a wave of helplessness, he cast his eyes down in   
weariness; his eyesight rested on the hand-carved piece of japor snippet. His   
father had poured love into this jewel, he reflected with a small smile. He   
still didn't know exactly when he had crafted it, nor how, but even now, he   
could still feel his hopes for a better world... for an ideal love.   
  
Or so the lines of rich orange and brown seemed to tell him anyway, he smirked   
foolishly to himself, or perhaps it was the warm touch of the wooden material,   
he shrugged, then gazed up at the sight of the teeming city. Whatever it was   
didn't really matter anyway. The only thing that did matter was that it was a   
part of both of his parents.  
  
Their love, he sighed in growing tiredness and despair, was the only inspiration   
that was truly keeping him going at the moment. If he couldn't have something   
similar himself... If his father had to exile himself... Then he would at least   
do everything in his powers to ensure that the rest of the galaxy wouldn't   
suffer like his family and did... And he would do so the right way this time, he   
thought more seriously.  
  
In a way, he admitted sadly, he had had the right idea after Leia's death... but   
had completely mistaken his goal with the means to reach it...  
  
"What a waste of time," he sighed, then leaned his forehead against the cool   
tranparisteel.  
  
And now how could he make sure that no more time would be lost due to his lack   
of experience?.. It was out of question that he took over the throne himself,   
and it was also impossible to merely bring back the old Senate without bringing   
back corruption with it.  
  
"Think, Skywalker," he admonished himself even as he hit his forehead against   
the unyielding window. "You were clever when you were Vader, so think farmboy.   
Show them what a Skywalker is made of----"  
  
"So it's Skywalker now, huh?" Mara's voice suddenly interrupted his self-  
scolding session.  
  
Luke instantly whirled around, his hand instinctively going for his lightsaber   
before he could stop it.  
  
"None of that, Skywalker," his lover warned as she stepped in the office, her   
wicked pocket blaster aimed at him.  
  
Even as he registered her threat, slowly assuming a more relaxed posture, he   
became aware that he hadn't felt her at all.  
  
"How long have you been watching?" he finally asked her once she was right   
beside his desk, still out of his range but close enough for them to gaze into   
each other's eyes.  
  
"Long enough," she answered shortly. "So what happened exactly, 'Skywalker',"   
she sneered at his true name.  
  
Luke sighed, then turned his back to her. Either she would kill him and he   
would be done with his life... or she still loved him and would spare him.  
Either way though, he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop her from doing what   
she had come here to do so better not torment himself with her beautiful,   
unreachable sight and close presence.  
  
"It's a long story," he explained briefly.  
  
"Oh, I've got all the time in the universe," she retorted mock-lightly. "After   
all," she added more lowly, "I'm job-less for now."  
  
Her resent poured over him, threatening to make him review his plans to make it   
up to 'her'... the only love in his life. Slowly, he gathered his courage and   
turned toward her, his eyes brimming with tears of regret.  
  
"I'm sorry, Mara," he apologized earnestly. "I never meant to lie to you."  
  
"When did you begin to?" she asked in answer, a flash of anger lighting her   
green eyes for a moment.  
  
"The... night after I recovered you from the rebels," he began softly,   
regretfully, "Leia's spirit came to me..."  
  
  
  
  
Mara had expected to discover something about Lue falling under Leia's spell,   
but the news of her ex-friend's spirit being with him--- it shocked her   
senseless. Despite her rigid training and cool heart, she almost dropped her   
weapon at that.  
  
"Spirit?" she finally gasped once she had managed to close her mouth to speak   
again.  
  
Luke nodded.  
  
"In spite of what we thought," he explained, "Leia was a Jedi when she died...   
and she chose to remain with Father and myself to save us from the Dark Side."  
  
"Save you?" the red-head repeated, her wariness returning as did her still   
smoldering anger about what that man had done to her. "More like mislead you,"   
she spat vehemently.  
  
"No, the Emperor was lying to us all," her wise boyfriend countered gently, "He   
had dazzled us with visions of grandeur and power, skewing our vision of reality   
until what we did was 'right', but it was not."  
  
Suddenly spiked by his last sentence, Mara tightened her grip on her blaster and   
brought it back to a straight aiming position.   
  
"Killing the outlaws and destroying troublemakers was right," she objected   
defiantly.  
  
"But orphaning children, destroying regular lives and forbidding free-expression   
was not," Luke retorted, taking a step closer to her.  
  
She instantly took a step back even though she knew that he hadn't moved to   
attack her. Instead, she could feel compassion from him... a desire to comfort   
her.  
  
No, she reminded herself. She wouldn't let him come close for the moment; she   
had come here to discover the whole truth and make a decision about the future.  
She didn't want to be influenced by what had corrupted him.  
  
"So once you 'realized' that," she sneered in disgust, "you began to lie to me   
and to plan against the Emperor."  
  
"At first, it was only a question of survival," he answered her, then gazed down   
at his left hand.  
  
  
  
  
He had meant to take his eyes off of her pained eyes, but instead found himself   
gazing at his mother's pendant. He had completely forgotten that he was still   
holding it--- then he understood who his mother had to help next.  
  
"Mara," he began softly. "I... don't expect you to understand what happened to   
my father and myself, but I can tell you this: deep down, we've always been who   
we are now."  
  
"Meaning?" his girlfriend asked suspiciously.  
  
Luke gazed up at her, then tentatively reached out to contact her through the   
Force.  
  
*We have always loved and cared,* he sent, baring his heart and mind to hers.  
  
He didn't know what to expect from this, didn't even know if his sending had   
made it through her walls, but at the moment, he didn't care. The only thing   
that mattered was that he had told her that he had always loved her and that he   
still did.  
  
For a long moment, a heavy silence hung between them, then Jade finally   
answered; she lowered her aim until his life wasn't threatened anymore.  
  
  
  
  
She couldn't kill him. Now even more than in the throne room, she couldn't kill   
him; he was the only person in her whole life who had never hurt her. She now   
knew that even when he had hidden the truth from her, he had done so to protect   
her from loosing him to the Emperor's wrath. She still couldn't understand why   
he had turned from Dark Lord of the Sith to Light Jedi Knight, but she had no   
choice but to accept it, she sighed in confusion.  
  
Yes, Luke had always loved and cared. From their first meeting until their last   
one, she had always felt that inner warmth which had obviously turned him into   
Skywalker... and the same warmth had been in Vader's senses whenever he had been   
with his children, she belatedly remembered.  
  
Suddenly, everything became clear to her; Leia had only needed to nurture this   
side of the 'Vaders' to turn them, she understood in mild anger, but it was   
short-lived. It was over now, and her master had fallen under the power of   
Love. She could only adapt to the new reality, she decided sadly, and she   
couldn't kill the one person responsible for it.  
  
"I...," she finally began hesitantly. "I think... I understand."  
  
Luke remained silent, waiting for her to continue.  
  
"This is no cover-up... is it?" she inquired glumly, involuntarily taking a step   
closer to her lover.  
  
"I would never lie to you, Mara," was Luke's answer. "I'm just sorry that the   
truth is breaking us apart."  
  
"Yeah," she mumbled as she stashed her blaster back in her wrist holster. "I'm   
sorry too," she finished, avoiding his eyes as she became aware of what she   
wanted to do.  
  
She didn't want to leave him; she wanted to stay, change with him, and just be   
in his arms forever.  
  
No, she rebuked herself. She might not be able to kill Luke, but she wouldn't   
betray her old self by staying with the traitor whom he had become. She had to   
somehow avenge what she had lost because of him.  
  
"What will you do now?" her lover asked her, taking a step closer to her.  
  
"I'm leaving," was her answer.  
  
She kept her gaze away from him.  
  
"I understand," Luke nodded slightly. "I won't modify the access that you have   
to imperial credits," he informed her seriously. "and as I told you before, my   
door will always be open for you."  
  
He wasn't cutting her off??, she gaped in disbelief; she looked back at him.  
The moment that her gaze met his own, she felt her resolve falter, but forced it   
to remain strong. She 'couldn't' stay.  
  
"What about your father?" she asked seriously.   
  
"Father left in exile," her lover answered, his last word catching in his throat   
in obvious sadness. "He said that he couldn't stay as long as he would be seen   
as Darth Vader."  
  
Ah, so that was why her boyfriend seemed to be the figurehead of the whole   
thing, she understood. He was alone now, and she too was about to leave him for   
real, she reminded herself glumly.   
  
She, like his father, would abandon him to his fate and life-work when he more   
than ever needed help... and family--- Well, she had no choice, she sternly   
rebuked herself for even considering the opposite decision. She might love him,   
but she hadn't forgiven him for his betrayal. She locked her gaze one last time   
with his, then lowered her eyesight and turned to leave--- when Luke's hand shot   
outward and took hold of hers, keeping her from leaving.  
  
"Mara," he said before she could react to his touch. "There's something I want   
you to have."  
  
Wary of any attempts to sweet-talk her into staying with him, she barely nodded   
even as she pulled her hand free from his electrifying, mesmerizing hold.  
  
  
  
  
Aware of his girlfriend's sudden annoyance, Luke gathered his courage, took hold   
of her hand once again, turned it palm up, then laid his mother's pendant in it   
and closed her hand around it once again.  
  
"My father made this for my mother," he explained wistfully, sadly, "as a gage   
of his enduring love for her. I'd be honored if you'd accept it as such from me   
now."  
  
A long silence followed his daring offer. He watched her as she opened her hand   
to study the trinket, then slowly closed her hand once again around it, but   
gently this time. At that moment, he knew that there might still be hope that   
they would someday meet again and share the same path once again.  
  
Someday, somehow, their love would be reborn, but until then, he himself had to   
accept the necessary separation... and its resulting loneliness.  
  
As if reading his thoughts, she slowly raised her head until she could gaze in   
his eyes once again---- then her free hand suddenly took hold of his shirt's   
lapel and pulled him into a passionate kiss.   
  
Luke was too startled to react at first, simply overwhelmed by their suddenly   
strong bond and her intoxicating presence.  
  
*I love you too, Luke,* she sent him sadly, then before he could return her kiss   
or sending, she pulled away and turned away from him.  
  
"Mara," he called instinctively, taking a step toward her.  
  
His girlfriend didn't let her catch up with her; she hastened her steps.  
Understanding her message, he relented and simply watched her as she left his   
life for gods knew how long.  
  
"Mara..." he whispered in despair, then, when no one came back in the office,   
turned away from the door that she had used to leave... and returned to his   
lonelier than lonely life.  
  
He didn't have anything else left...  
  
  
  
TBC in part 3: Doubts  
  
  
  
SJ: Skyjade@globetrotter.net (any positive stuff is welcome, but negative or   
mean comments will be thrown down the Sarlacc's throat without being read.) 


	38. A Whole New Life 3: Doubts

A Whole New Life  
Part 3: Doubts  
By SJ 12-23-01/6-04-02 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
  
  
Warning: Ani remembers his own, darkest hours in this part. (No spoilers, just   
my imagination), while Luke deals with Imperial terrorists... You are warned   
about their emotional aspect now.  
  
__________________  
  
  
  
While Luke was facing the first true consequences of their attack on the   
Emperor, Anakin dealt with his trouble about forgiving himself for abandoning   
his son to the load of work that was undoubtedly already assailing him.  
  
He had had no choice, he reminded himself for the fiftieth time that day. Had   
he stayed, his armor would have ruined their best efforts to pacify the galaxy   
which had been literally mauled down by the Emperor.   
  
By himself. 'He' had been wreaking havoc in the despot's name for far longer   
than Luke had, and unlike his son, who had been mostly restrained to outlaws and   
rebels, he himself had hurt innocents ever since the beginning of his slavery.  
He had much to atone for, he sighed in sadness, but admitted that he needed to   
be alive to do so. However, he conceded, the temptation to take his life was   
very strong, even more so now that he was alone and headed for a still unknown   
destination.  
  
Of course, he knew that he had made a promise to Luke to return if he could, but   
what if he couldn't, he asked himself seriously. He knew the exact extent of   
the damage on his innards; the life-support suite wasn't just for show. He knew   
that he was forfeited without it, so how, in good conscience, could he hope to   
rid himself of it? Granted, he needed to breathe to live, but he also needed a   
beating heart... working kidneys, and such. Despite all the progress that his   
own searches had brought about in the medical field, its technology was nowhere   
near being able to help him.  
  
He had died that day, he thought, then shut his eyes as memories of that awful   
day assailed him anew.  
  
  
  
Almost twenty years ago:  
'He knew that Kenobi was close; he had tracked him down to Vjun, a volcanic   
world in the core system. He knew that his former master was becoming desperate   
to escape him even though Kenobi was aware that there was no eluding him for   
much longer.  
  
'He', Anakin Skywalker, was the most powerful Jedi of all times.  
  
Suddenly feeling a presence, he looked up and spotted the brown robes of his   
former mentor.  
  
"You can run all you want, Kenobi," he spat out loud even as he gathered his   
focus and jumped all the way to a rocky ledge that was a few meters lower than   
Kenobi's location. "but you won't escape your fate," he finished, turning on   
his electric blue lightsaber.  
  
The blade of purity, he thought in satisfaction, a purity which he was going to   
spread this very moment. The older Jedi answered his threat by turning on his   
own blade. It was also blue, but the blue of white lies, Anakin sternly   
reminded himself as he stepped closer to his former friend.   
  
Lies which were about to die with their owner.  
  
"Where is Padme?" he asked vehemently, then took a first slash at the older man.  
  
"Where she's safe from you," was the other's answer as he parried his first   
attack.  
  
Incensed, Anakin assaulted the other's defense with a flurry of strikes which   
steadily backed his former friend toward the closest mini volcano. With each   
strike, his anger flew pure and strong in his veins, feeding him with a power   
which was rightfully his. It was not right to be deprived of his lover!, his   
lightsaber seemed to scream with each new impact against Kenobi's. It was not   
right!!!!  
  
"Where is she???" Anakin asked desperately, then attacked once again.  
  
Kenobi's silence only angered him further, almost blinding him while opening his   
eyes to the truth: Kenobi wanted to keep her for himself. He wanted to steal   
his angel from him just as he had tried to steal his powers. Anakin's anger   
suddenly turned to fury and allowed him to break through Kenobi's defense--- and   
cut his fighting arm off before tossing it and his weapon down the small   
mountain.  
  
"It was useless to resist," the young dark Jedi sneered victoriously once he had   
savored the scream of agony from the injured Jedi. "Now, tell me and I might   
kill you swiftly," he added as he glanced in the nearby lava pit.  
  
That would be swift indeed, he thought cruelly. He pushed the tip of his blade   
closer to his former friend until it was right underneath Kenobi's chin, forcing   
him to look up at him.  
  
His better.  
  
"Where?" he growled threateningly.   
  
The Jedi, who was still catching his breath from his duel and injury, panted:   
"If... you're as strong as you... think you are, Anakin... Why can't you find   
her?"  
  
That did it! He roared incoherently, then moved to cut off another limb--- but   
he belatedly realized that he had lowered his guard. Kenobi's Force-shove   
appeared in the middle of his chest and pushed him backward--- straight into the   
lava pit.'  
  
  
  
Back to the present:  
The last thing he remembered was Obi-Wan's regretful gaze as he had watched him   
plummet to his 'death', then excruciating burning which had barely been dampened   
by his weakening shield, and then... crawling out on a ledge to wait for death   
and instead receiving instant assistance from the Emperor.  
  
Back then, he hadn't questioned his master being there. Instead, he had   
believed his having a bad feeling and coming to his help, but now... He knew.  
The Emperor had planned all this.  
  
He had planned to bereft him of his love... of his life. He had known, somehow,   
that this would make him take the final step toward the Dark Side... And   
indeed, he admitted shamefully, he had fallen head first into it... barely   
retaining a last scrap of love in what would soon become a bloated dark heart...   
responsible for the eradication of the Jedi Order and the new Galactic-wide   
Night which had ensued that fall.  
  
As more unwanted images of that fateful day returned to him, he suddenly   
understood 'what' exactly had happened... Why Obi-Wan had been able to give his   
old lightsaber to his son... Obi-Wan hadn't pushed him in the pit--- it had been   
the Emperor's doing. His old mentor had, in fact, tried to save him, but had   
only managed to save his lightsaber due to the Emperor's block on his falling   
body...  
  
And only now, could he see clearly through those awful events. What a fool!, he   
spat at himself even as he stood to his feet. What a pathetic fool, trusting   
the one man who had in fact engineered the destruction of his life and everyone   
he cared for, then blindly serving him for nearly twenty years...  
  
He would never forgive himself, he decided as he paced the small deck behind the   
piloting station. He would never be able to atone for what he had done... He   
deserved his fate away from his son, from his life... and his freedom. But he   
didn't deserve death. Not yet at any rate. First, he had to suffer of   
loneliness to make it up to all the Jedi warriors who had perished---  
  
The Jedi Knights..., he stopped on that thought. They were not all dead, he   
slowly remembered. He stopped his pacing, then closed his eyes and focused his   
mind on his memory. One of them remained, he knew it, but had somehow forgotten   
his whereabouts...  
  
'Did you find Yoda?' his son had asked him after his 'escape' from the Death   
Star, and he himself had answered yes, but where..? A name seemed to float up   
from the deep recesses of his mind, a name barely whispered as if in fright.  
  
Dagobah.  
  
Anakin opened his eyes and frowned. Dagobah? Where was that? He sat back in   
the pilot seat and began to call up maps of the galaxy's territories; the less   
fruitful his search was, the more he remembered that this was why he had   
forgotten this information. It had been a lie from Obi-Wan.  
  
Except that at the moment, he rebuked himself, he could feel that it wasn't a   
lie... Dagobah existed. He simply had to find it.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
On Coruscant, a shrill whistling tore Luke out of his uneasy sleep. Groggily,   
he searched himself for his comlink, then he dimly remembered leaving it in his   
jacket... which was on the back of his couch. Not feeling up to using the Force   
yet, he instead groaned as he forced his head off the surface of his desk, then   
slowly stood up to his feet.  
  
Meanwhile, the offending device called louder.  
  
"Coming, coming," he told it in slight annoyance, then finally found it and   
thumbed it on as he sat heavily in the couch of his office. "Skywalker," he   
answered, then stifled a yawn.  
  
"Sir, this is General Dimil," the man identified himself. "We are receiving   
several reports of riots in imperial-pro cities and even whole worlds."  
  
"Protect the citizens, General," he ordered as he snapped awake thanks to his   
rushing adrenaline. "Stun the troublemakers and take them off-planet. I'll be   
right with you," he finished even as he retrieved both his and his father's   
lightsabers from his desk.  
  
"Transmitting your orders now, Sir," his trustee first officer on Coruscant   
answered, then cut off the transmission.  
  
By then, Luke had already jumped to his feet and was getting ready to leave the   
office... where he had spent the past week in brainstorming sessions, but to no   
avail. He still hadn't figured out a corruption-proof plan to bring back the   
old system of democracy. For the moment though, it was not very important; what   
he had feared would happen had begun.  
  
Freedom was already becoming a burden for some elements. He ran out of the   
office and into the closest turbolift.  
  
  
  
  
When he reached the command center of the ex-imperial Palace, his far-away   
troops had already begun to deploy themselves according to his orders.  
  
"We are facing different types of troublemakers, Sir," a lieutenant instantly   
informed him as he gave him a report, then saluted and rushed back to his   
station.  
  
Luke took a moment to read it, then gazed back up at the tactical displays.  
This wasn't a coincidence, he realized. They were not dealing with spontaneous   
rioters but with organized groups. They were armed with imperial issue blasters   
and grenades, and they seemed to have only one goal: destroy.  
  
"Status, General?" he inquired as he stepped up in the commanding station.  
  
"We are still deploying, Sir, and we have new reports of aerial attacks on   
Calamari and Bestine."  
  
For a moment, Luke closed his eyes in sadness as he saw in his mind what was   
going on all over the galaxy, then he reached a decision.  
  
"All right, they have asked for it," he commented coldly.  
  
The men around him noticed his change of composure and braced themselves.  
  
"Launch our Tie Fighters on Bestine and Calamari. They have authorization to   
fire at will on the enemy. Quarantine the areas in the besieged cities and warn   
the regular citizens to stay at home... then do what you must to control the   
rioters."  
  
"Yes, Sir," General Dimil bowed his head, then turned toward the comm officers   
and told them to transmit the orders; meanwhile the local commanders snapped   
their orders in their mikes.  
  
Luke turned toward the nearby lieutenant.   
  
"I want a report every three minutes," he told him grimly.  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
On the main wall in front of them, several screens became alive with images of   
the ongoing operation that were taking place all over the galaxy. More than a   
thousand attacks, Luke sighed in wariness. He could only hope that they would   
be efficient enough to control the extent of the damage. In front of him, the   
images continued to flash with colors of destruction... and death.  
  
  
  
At first, the peace volunteers seemed to gain the upper hand in the 'battle',   
but it was only an illusion. Just when they began to get a few groups under   
control, imperial reinforcement showed up, coming out of nowhere and challenging   
the strength of the battle-weary volunteers.  
  
Fortunately, it was not like that everywhere and some cities were quickly   
pacified, but in too many cases, the face-off lasted and expanded itself to   
other areas of the towns or cities.   
  
And especially so on Coruscant.  
  
  
  
  
After an hour an a half of listening to reports, Luke decided that he could be   
more useful on the field and left for one of the besieged area of the planet-  
wide city. If the troops were surprised to see him on the front, they didn't   
tell him so. Instead, they instantly snapped to attention and awaited his   
command.  
  
"How is the cordon holding?" he asked the man in charge of the platoon.  
  
"Perfectly, Sir."  
  
"Tell them to close in on us. We're going to take this group out of the way."  
  
"Yes, Sir," the other answered while Luke shed his jacket and checked his   
blaster charge, setting it on stun.  
  
Then, he and his troops watched the advancing mob as it broke windows and   
anything that could be easily wrecked. Luke's gaze traveled from one angry face   
to another--- when he saw one of them prepare a grenade. Even as he deactivated   
it with the Force, an idea came to him.  
  
"Do we have smoke screens?" he asked the men nearby.  
  
One of them produced one of the nifty gadget.  
  
"On my mark then," he informed them as he prepared the weapon; he threw it in   
the middle of the advancing crowd.  
  
White, thick smoke instantly spread all over the street, effectively blinding   
the mob.  
  
"Now!" the young Jedi ordered as he himself jumped out of cover and ran as fast   
as he could toward the slowly dissipating cloud of smoke.  
  
He was less than two meters away from the people who were surrounded by the   
disappearing cloud when a warning came to him; he turned on his lightsaber just   
long enough to deflect a blaster shot, then closed it again to avoid taking off   
someone's head. He clunked the closest man on the forehead with the hilt of his   
lightsaber, then pivoted on his left heel and knocked him out with a powerful   
round-house kick.  
  
One down.  
  
Seventy-five to go.  
  
Aware that his troops would stun as many of the rioters as they could, he   
continued his swift progress in the still slightly blinded crowd, taking out a   
few others with powerful punches or kicks, or a mere stun blast, then he reached   
his destination: the middle of the crowd where he would dispatch as many as he   
could while his closing in troops would take care of the edges.  
  
He reflexively ducked a powerful swing which would have dazed him for good, then   
again, then blocked the third such attempt, kicked backward to shove away the   
approaching rioter, then head-butted his first assailant. Before the other   
could crumple though, the young Jedi jumped away from him--- barely avoiding a   
laser shot which dispatched his latest attacker. Slightly upset by this new   
loss of life, Luke directed his landing and forced the happy-trigger man down on   
the ground, then knocked him out with a hit to the head. He then jumped away   
from him again to avoid more blaster shots.  
  
"It's Skywalker! Get him!!" an angry shout came over the crowd, and all the   
nearby blasters turned toward him.  
  
Aware that he couldn't block shots from behind and the front at the same time,   
Luke swiftly jumped behind that group, dispatched two nearby enemies, then   
activated his two lightsabers and deflected two shots at the same time. As if   
to challenge him, the blaster wielders shot faster and faster, but Luke immersed   
himself in the Force, allowing it to guide him into a blur of blocks and   
parries. The enemies were so focused on him that they failed to see the closing   
peace volunteers... until they were either down, face first on the ground, or   
unconscious.  
  
Luke for his part relaxed slightly and shut down his weapons. While he had been   
fighting, he had seen himself in his mind, had seen how his brash tactic had   
destabilized the enemy here. They wouldn't fall for it again, but... Reaching   
a decision, he pulled his comlink and called the command center.  
  
"Report General," he said quickly.  
  
"Sir, we have regained control of ten other locations; the other battles are   
still going on."  
  
"Provide as many groups as you can with shields," he ordered shortly. "then   
send those shielded individuals in the center of the crowd. We'll take them   
from both the inside and the outside."  
  
"Yes, Sir," the other accepted "We should be able to equip at least half of the   
groups with shields."  
  
"Excellent, get to it," he nodded, then shut his comlink and took a deep breath.  
  
It wasn't over yet.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
While Luke spent the best part of the following two days overseeing troops and   
taking parts to operations on besieged Coruscant, Mara reached Ord Mantell.  
  
She frowned slightly as she flew above the city of Inkeny. It was in turmoil,   
she noted. The landscape was peppered with columns of smoke that betrayed   
ongoing fires, and some streets were eerily desert... or filled with what looks   
like street fights.  
  
"What is going on down there?" she wondered out loud, then debated whether she   
should land or not.  
  
Checking on the state of her fuel cells though, she 'knew' that she didn't have   
any other choice. She had to replenish her holds and refuel the ship. She   
still hadn't decided where she was headed, nor what she would do for a living,   
but she knew that she wouldn't find her answers on Ord Mantell; she would be   
gone in a few hours at most.  
  
With a gentle burst of the repulsors, her ship, which used to belong to ex-Lord   
Vader, settled on the rough ground.  
  
"How long will you stay, Jade's Fire?" the voice of the traffic controller asked   
her as was custom in this part of the universe.  
  
"A few hours at most," she answered shortly, then meant to turn off the   
communicator when she changed her mind. "What is going on here anyway?"  
  
"Riots," the man informed her. "They've been going on for a few days now. If I   
were you, I'd stay away from the center of town."  
  
Where she needed to go to purchase new fuel cells, great, she thought unhappily.  
She turned off the communicator, then finished the shut down of her new ship but   
left it on standby mode. If things went wrong, she reflected seriously as she   
stood to her feet, she wanted to be able to make a fast get-away. She checked   
her blaster, knives, then spied her lightsaber's presence on the copilot seat.  
Should she wear it, she wondered.   
  
If she did, she would openly identify herself as a Jedi, but would she been seen   
as an Imperial?.. Or a pro-rebel? Either way, it meant trouble, she decided,   
but pulled it to her hand all the same and fastened it to her belt. Jedi or   
not, she reasoned, she was going into a dangerous zone; she needed all the   
resources that she had at her disposal and her lightsaber was her most efficient   
weapon when it came to close-quarters combats.  
  
However, she reflected more seriously, no need to go 'looking' for trouble.  
She turned toward the nearby closet and pulled out a dark hooded cloak to cover   
herself. Hopefully, she thought as she pulled the hood over her brilliant red-  
gold hair, this would do.  
  
  
  
Two minutes later, she exited her landing pad--- and stepped into chaos.  
While she had been debating her actions, the riots had moved closer to her   
location and people were fleeing toward their homes or safety.  
  
"Well, there's your peace, Skywalker," she snarled lowly as she set off toward   
the closest tavern.   
  
She would have to wait it out now. She walked fast, attentive to the sounds of   
approaching troops and trouble; she reached her destination a few minutes later,   
barely ahead of the closing riots. Fortunately for her, she wasn't the only   
'stranger' in the regular array of patrons so her entrance wasn't noticed.   
  
Like the other unusual 'visitors', she stayed in the entrance for a while,   
watching with an expert eye as a face-off took place just in front of them.  
While she recognized the stormtroopers who were now the 'good' guys, she noticed   
that the other group wasn't as defined. She saw pro-imperials proudly bearing   
the Empire's seal, but also other individuals who looked more like outlaws than   
ex-imperials. She attentively watched the white-clad 'volunteer' troopers   
charge the approaching group, studied their tactics... then she stifled a gasp   
of shock when men equipped with body-shields forced their way toward the middle   
of the crowd and continued to assail it, but from the inside.  
  
Luke, she recognized in surprise. Only Luke thought of such brash tactics and   
took the enemy straight-on. The more she thought about similar tactics that he   
had used before, the less she saw the ongoing battle, and the more she traveled   
back in time...  
  
When they had been together. They had truly shared a mind back then, she   
remembered wistfully while images tumbled freely in her mind.  
  
She and Luke planning an attack.   
  
She and Luke training and pushing each other to their physical limits while   
challenging their fighting creativity since they could predict each other's   
moves.   
  
She and Luke flying in tandem and taking out all their nemesis.  
  
She and Luke drawn toward one another like two magnets----  
  
No, she suddenly pulled herself away from the past. She wouldn't go down that   
path, she resolved as she turned away from the ongoing battle and entered the   
cantina itself. Luke had made his choice; she had made hers... and they were   
incompatible. Sighing heavily in unwilling regret, she drew her hood off her   
head, then walked up to the bar and ordered herself a hot chocolate---  
  
Yet again a habit which she had picked up from Luke, she admonished herself,   
hunching her shoulders while she fought again against the memories of the past.  
When she became aware of her new failure to keep her mind blank, her eyes flew   
open and she sought a subject, anything to take her lost boyfriend off her mind.  
  
That's when her eyes rested on the holo station at the end of the room. It was   
showing reports about the ongoing riots. While she studied the images,   
identifying some locations where they were coming from, her drink finally   
arrived.  
  
"What is going on exactly?" she asked the bartender, indicating the holo station   
with her head.  
  
"Some people are not happy with the Empire's demise," he answered shortly,   
neutrally, then returned to his business.  
  
So she had been right and the gangs out there were pro-imperials...   
Interesting, she reflected with a small, cold smile as she sipped her hot   
beverage. Perhaps, she should stay around a little while longer... Then, her   
eyes returned to the images which were coming from several places around the   
galaxy, and she winced.  
  
Innocents. The imperials were hurting innocents, children most of all. She   
literally glared at the offending images, her anger swelling in her until she   
felt ready to burst. Even during the darkest hours of the Empire, they had   
never targeted children of any kind. They had always been collateral damage at   
worst. These 'pro-imperials' though were.... And all that because of her   
boyfriend's 'big plans', she raged inwardly.  
  
It was sickening, she thought in disgust and slapped her cup on the bar, almost   
shattering it under the impact. The loud noise attracted the attention of a   
nearby patron... who smiled at her and came closer.  
  
"Hey, Sweetheart, what the matter?"   
  
Mara barely threw him an askance glare before refocusing on the far away vid.  
  
"Maybe I can help," the other offered suavely, ignoring her warning and leaning   
closer.  
  
"Back off," she warned lowly, moving to stand up.  
  
Unwisely, the other reached out a hand and made to circle her shoulders with his   
arm. He didn't touch her for long; she brought her fist up and sideways and hit   
him straight on the nose, then, before he had recovered, looped her arm around   
his and rammed him face-first onto the bar; she then turned away and left   
without a word. As a path seemed to clear itself in front of her, she heard   
snickers directed at the foolish man behind her.  
  
Good, she thought to herself. They knew that she was angry enough to kill even   
without her weapons. And talking of anger, she was going to do something about   
at least one group of rioters. Ignoring the gasps of the men and women   
assembled in the entrance of the cantina as she exited it, she triggered her   
pocket blaster and boldly walked toward the ongoing fight.   
  
Suddenly aware of the presence of a new ally-enemy, both groups focused on her   
dark silhouette, just in time to see her draw her lightsaber, then they could   
only witness her deadly skills as she proceeded to beat the crap out of anybody   
who stood in front of her, be them allies or enemies. Both side were   
responsible for the chaos in the galaxy, she thought angrily; they were both the   
reason for the useless suffering. The traitors deserved to die for their   
betrayal, the others, for their disregard of the imperial values which had kept   
the galaxy in order up to now.  
  
While her blaster slowly drew all the energy that was available to it, her   
lightsaber both deflected shots and kept enemies at bay. As the fight went on,   
she slowly became aware of what she was doing. Whether she was dealing with   
incompetents, or because her anger was making her more powerful, she couldn't   
say, but she quickly realized that for one of the first time in her life, she   
could access the Force without any restraint. She used it to avenge all the   
suffering that she had seen via the holovid.  
  
Ten minutes later, the street were quiet once again; she herself was already   
walking away, a shadowy figure in the orange lights of twilight.  
  
It would be a long night.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Four days after the beginning of the riots, Luke had briefly retired to his   
quarters in the main palace to rest, but he had left strict orders to inform him   
if the situation became worse once again.  
  
The vid was turned on, but he wasn't watching it. Instead, he was in the   
'fresher, gently dabbing at his freshest injury and cleaning it. He knew that   
he could have gone to the medcenter for this, or that he could use the Force to   
clean it and heal it fast, but he didn't want to. It was only fitting for him   
to feel pain when he was responsible for what was happening to too many souls to   
count. He had been outside in the thick of the fight for almost forty-eight   
hours in a row, fighting battle after battle and doing his best to restrain the   
damage inflicted on the citizens whom he had promised to protect.  
  
Throughout the last seventy-two hours, they had managed to regain the control of   
another fifteen percent of the besieged areas, which meant that over thirty   
planets had recovered their rightful peace. It only left nearly a hundred   
planets to help now, and some seven-hundred fights to control.  
  
As he pulled on a new shard, he reflected again about the strange report which   
he had received from Inkeny on Ord Mantell. The riots had dramatically quieted   
down in that city, but according to his troops, they hadn't done much. Instead,   
a stranger was said to have taken care of them in one night.  
  
Some had seen the human and had reported the presence of a Jedi, apparently   
female, but others had said that it was only a very proficient fighter. Whoever   
it was, he himself didn't know what to think. The riots 'had' died out in that   
city, but he had also lost several volunteers to that stranger who had   
apparently been fighting both sides at the same time.  
  
Who could it be?, he wondered while he cleaned blood that had spilled free after   
the removal of his last splinter. His father? No, he shook his head. His   
father wouldn't attack the men that they had freed together. Mara was out of   
question since she didn't have the skills required for that kind of attack.  
So who was it? Was he facing a new dark Jedi? But who could it be? No one had   
survived his father way back when, and no one had been trained except those he   
knew.  
  
"On Ord Mantell," the news person continued in the background, "the situation   
has continued to improve throughout the night. More rioters have been   
controlled in the city of Telchiu, but we also report the loss of two patrol   
units not far from the area where the rioters had gathered."  
  
Drawn by his curiosity, Luke walked into the living room and watched the images.  
Why did it look so familiar, he wondered as he tried to identify clues that   
would tell him who was responsible for those actions. There was something   
there, something that he couldn't see, yet he knew that it was there all the   
same. He sat down on the couch, his bandage still loosened around his biceps,   
studied the images for as long as they lasted, then reached out and shut the   
transmitting device as he laid back on the couch.  
  
Why couldn't he regain control over those riots, he asked himself even as he   
rubbed tiredness out of his eyes, then aware that he would need more than that   
to shoo away his tiredness, closed his eyes and sighed in sadness. 'The plan'   
had seemed so perfect when they had prepared it, so... impervious to anything   
that could go wrong.   
  
Normally, the others should have been content to be free from overtaxing,   
conscription and general slavery, but instead, they were now almost supporting   
the enemy's actions; they sure weren't even answering the rallying call, and   
gods knew that they needed reinforcement in some areas, he thought wearily.   
Their meager patrolling units and surveillance corvettes weren't near enough to   
provide most of his groups with the resources that they needed to stop the   
carnage.  
  
And now, besides the riots, they also had to deal with terrorists. The   
volunteers had of course reinforced the security parameters for what seemed to   
be the 'terrorists' favorite targets: wherever they could hurt the most. But   
now what could he do, he wondered in despair.   
  
What could they do?.. Another galaxy-wide call would only weaken them in the   
public's opinion, and abandoning some embattled zones would sacrifice too many   
lives he wasn't willing to risk. If only his father were here, he thought as he   
felt a tear worm its way out of his tired eyes.  
  
He would tell him what they hadn't tried... He would tell him that they were   
indeed right to kill the Emperor, that the resulting chaos was his fault, not   
theirs... That it wasn't his fault... because he couldn't come up with clever   
enough ideas to insure safety for everyone.  
  
He wasn't naive anymore, he rebuked himself; he knew that much guilt rested on   
his shoulders.   
  
Suddenly feeling unable to retain his self-control, he slipped sideways on the   
leather couch and wept for a situation which was now out of hand.  
  
Because of him.  
  
******  
  
TBC in part 4: More Trouble  
  
  
SJ: Skyjade@globetrotter.net (any positive stuff is welcome, but negative or   
mean comments will be thrown down the Sarlacc's throat without being read.) 


	39. A Whole New Life 4: More Trouble

A Whole New Life  
Part 4: More Trouble  
By SJ 12-23-01/ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
  
  
WARNING: this part also deals with terrorism; you are warned.  
  
__________________  
  
  
  
  
Luke was still weeping, more out of tiredness than anything else, when his   
nearby comm station went off with a priority one signal.   
  
For a moment, he stared at the turned-off device, debating with himself if he   
wanted to answer it or not, then berated himself for a lazy Hutt if he didn't   
get up and fight. He tiredly pushed himself off the couch, then straightened   
and dried his eyes on his way to the comm.  
  
"Skywalker," he answered the moment the screen lit up--- He took a step back in   
shock as he identified who was calling him.  
  
"Not so victorious now, 'Skywalker', are you?" Mara sneered at him, her eyes   
blazing with barely contained anger.  
  
"Mara?" he gasped in disbelief. "What--- Why--- How---" he stuttered   
incoherently, a thousand questions pressing themselves into his mind.  
  
He hadn't expected her to contact him, let alone on a military, top-secret and   
internal frequency.  
  
"I hope you're happy of your 'peace and justice', Skywalker," she snarled,   
ignoring his attempt to figure the reason of her call.  
  
"Do I look happy?" he asked her forlornly, then locked his gaze with hers. "Why   
are you calling me?"  
  
His friend eluded his question and instead asked him a new one.  
  
"Do you know how many innocents died today because of your 'coup'?" she inquired   
lowly.  
  
"Too many," he answered seriously.  
  
"Ten thousand three hundred and fifty three souls," she retorted coldly,   
providing him with the exact number. Before he could answer something to this,   
she spat: "You're worse than the Emperor was, 'Jedi'."  
  
"Hey," he objected, suddenly having enough of being insulted for something which   
he 'was' trying to fix. "First, I am not 'behind' those orders like Palpatine   
was, and second, I'm working on it, okay."   
  
Mara haughtily raised her chin in answer; her shoulders came into range of the   
comm video... and he noticed for the first time that she was draped in one of   
his former black cloak and cowl.  
  
'What looked like a woman dressed in black,' the report had said---- Suddenly   
understanding what was going on, he steadied his stance and straightened to his   
full height.  
  
"Where are you at the moment?" he inquired seriously.   
  
"Cleaning up Ord Mantell," she answered shortly, then challenged him with her   
eyes to berate her for her actions.  
  
He rose up to the challenge.  
  
"Then you too are responsible for the death of innocents, Jade," he stated   
coldly, pointedly reminding her of the peace volunteers she had coldly killed   
throughout the past days.  
  
"At least I'm doing something about it, Jedi," she countered caustically. "What   
about you? Are you, yes or no, going to put an end to this chaos?"  
  
For a moment, Luke could only glare at her. How dared she scold him for what   
was going on? He 'was' trying to stop it.  
  
"If you noticed, Jade," he finally begun with some animosity, "the situation   
'is' improving, although slowly---"  
  
"Well, do it faster then," his girlfriend interjected rudely.   
  
"It's not that easy," he retorted instantly, slowly growing irritated with her   
patronizing attitude. "Unlike you," he said, pointing an accusing finger at   
her, "I don't want to kill those people... not all of them at any rate," he   
finished more somberly, lowering his hand back to his side.   
  
  
  
  
Even though Mara was furious at her ex-lover, at this very moment, she felt her   
anger falter thanks to his genuine earnestness to keep the damage to a minimum.  
  
For a brief instant, their eyes met--- she swiftly averted his gaze to avoid   
more bad surprises from her call. She had meant to berate him, to insult him   
until he admitted his mistake, but the moment that he had answered her call, her   
resolve had lessened in intensity.   
  
Still, she reminded herself with professional pride, she had not shown him any   
kindness nor compassion; everything that was currently going wrong in the galaxy   
was 'his' fault.  
  
'He' was responsible for the death of those children and innocent citizens, she   
reminded herself for the tenth time since he had appeared on the screen. 'He'   
alone carried the weight of those wasted lives. 'He' had to pay for them.  
  
Considering that she couldn't kill him, she had decided to torment his 'kind'   
soul by not showing him 'any' mercy, but, she conceded reluctantly, the more she   
was speaking with him, and the more difficult it was for her to keep this kind   
of attitude.  
  
While she made sure to avoid directly gazing into his eyes, she took advantage   
of her call to study him. He looked tired, she noticed once again as her eyes   
encountered lines around his eyes. He also seemed deeply concerned about what   
was going on everywhere around them. Not really surprising, she dimly admitted   
to herself; she didn't need any proof that he cared about the others. Their   
friendship had been her first proof... and the last one had been his sister's   
corruption of him. Feeling a fresh surge of frustration at this thought, she   
averted his features completely and looked at the rest of what she could see on   
her screen. As she focused on his bare chest, she belatedly noticed the bacta-  
bandage which was loosely wrapped around his biceps.  
  
Her natural instinct was to worry about him--- but she caught herself and told   
herself that it was only his due for what he had caused.  
  
"Your good heart is your weakness, Skywalker," she finally commented in the long   
silence that had just stretched between them. "You won't get anywhere with   
that, nor will the galaxy."  
  
She discovered that Luke wouldn't listen to her this time.  
  
"And I suppose that the Emperor achieved much with his slavery?" he spat   
defiantly at her even as he crossed his arms across his bare chest. "Open your   
eyes, Mara," he then continued more beseechingly at her, "the only ones to blame   
for the current losses of lives are slaves who don't want their freedom."  
  
Instantly recognizing herself in his description, she looked up at him and   
pinned him with one of her deadliest glare.  
  
"We were happy and content with our lives, Jedi. Who were you to decide what   
was best for the rest of the galaxy?" she asked him vehemently.  
  
When her ex-companion remained silent, she knew that she had stung him where it   
hurt. However, her victory was short-lived.  
  
"I did what I felt was best," he answered, then continued despite her snort of   
derision: "and I'll continue to do so. I could use your help if you want to put   
an end to the violence."  
  
"So that you don't have to see action yourself, Skywalker?" she sneered at him.   
"Think again."  
  
For a long moment, they both gazed defiantly at one another, then Luke nodded in   
acceptance of her decision; he shifted on the screen, obviously reaching forward   
to terminate the communication.  
  
"Take care of yourself then, Mara... and," he added hesitantly, "beware the Dark   
Side."  
  
Then he was gone before she could shoot more insults his way.  
  
Distraught and angered by his last statement, she flicked her own comm off, then   
turned away from it and clenched her fists. Who was he to tell her what to do?   
He couldn't even choose a workable path of action for himself, she wanted to   
send to him through their remaining bond, so how could he even think that he   
could dictate her actions to her?  
  
At least, she reflected in dark satisfaction, she now knew now what he was   
planning.  
  
Nothing.  
  
Chaos would continue to reign where peace used to be; farmboy just wasn't strong   
enough to rule an Empire. Well that had got to hurt, she thought meanly as she   
pulled her hood over her head once again and headed out of her ship. She had   
more 'hunting' to do.  
  
  
  
  
On Coruscant, Luke gazed for a long time at the silver screen where the image of   
his lover had been.  
  
She was slipping toward the Dark Side. Something had happened to her since he   
had last seen her, and instead of refraining her anger, she had given in. He   
also understood that her powers had somehow been restrained by their late   
slaver. She could now be a full-fledged Jedi Knight... or she could very well   
become a new Dark Jedi and threaten the galaxy instead of helping it.  
  
No, he denied the vision that then came to him. It was impossible. He turned   
his thoughts to the Force and asked if had he broken free from the Dark Side   
only to end up facing his girlfriend in a life or death duel? Surely, he tried   
to reassure himself, it wouldn't come to that. What would be the point? His   
love for her had saved him... why wouldn't it be the same for her.  
  
He knew that she still loved him, he reminded himself hopefully. She might not   
have been aware of it, he conceded, but he had seen it in her eyes. No, he   
shook his head in new denial, Mara wouldn't become a full-fledged dark Jedi; her   
heart was too good for her to give into this lie again. Wasn't it??.. he asked   
once again to the unseen Force and his sister's spirit. No one answered him.  
  
Disappointed, he closed his eyes and lowered his chin to his chest. Well, then,   
he decided, he himself would make sure that his dear Mara wouldn't fall to the   
darkness. He would monitor her very closely just in case he needed to seek her   
out to extinguish her dark fire before it was too late.  
  
In the meantime though, he admitted that her stinging remark had started him   
thinking again and he now knew how he could put an end to the riots and   
terrorist actions. It would be long and time consuming, he thought glumly, but   
as he had told her, they were not the Empire anymore.  
  
He sent a message to the Freedom, then prepared himself for a long leave from   
Coruscant.  
  
  
  
******   
  
  
  
Unaware of his son's difficulties, Anakin concentrated on his piloting.  
  
He had been following his instinct for a few days now, setting courses through   
hyperspace while never really knowing where he was going. The only thing he   
knew for sure was that the Force was guiding him, although through curvaceous   
paths.   
  
With no other option available, he had decided to seek Master Yoda, aware that   
it might be a dead-end but he was unwilling to give up just yet. Besides, he   
had reminded himself, he couldn't heal himself; his healing powers had been   
tainted by the Dark Side for too long.  
  
Of course, he conceded as he prepared to exit hyperspace, he didn't know if Yoda   
would be able to help him, or even if he would accept to help him, but he was   
his only hope. He wouldn't give it up.  
  
A proximity alarm suddenly went off; he took hold of the hyperspace levers and   
gently pulled them down. His shuttle re-entered normal space--- in sight of a   
greenish brown world.  
  
Dagobah, he realized in slight stupor. Up to now, he hadn't 'really' believed   
that he would find it, but now, he knew exactly what he was nearing: the hiding   
place of the greatest Jedi Master ever. With only a slight hesitation, he   
adjusted the course of his shuttle and began his descent.  
  
While he monitored his instruments, more out of habit than true necessity, he   
reached out to locate the master's presence; he didn't feel anything. Puzzled,   
he tried again, with the same results--- then his ship suddenly bucked as its   
engines died while its scopes went totally dead.  
  
Cursing under his breath, Anakin took a firmer hold on the navigation stick,   
then reached out and toggled the ignition switch with the Force to 'reanimate'   
his ship. He knew that he needed at least the repulsors to manage some kind of   
landing. His shuttle remained unresponsive.  
  
Meanwhile, the landscape in the viewport remained dangerously clouded, keeping   
him from estimating how far he was from the ground--- Suddenly feeling imminent   
danger, he switched his focus outside of the shuttle and worked on slowing down   
his descent with the help of the Force. He first tried to pull on the hull of   
the ship, then, when it didn't work, to apply a resistance under it--- Then he   
hit a sturdy obstacle and could only brace himself for a crash landing.  
  
Between his own personal shield and the ship's shield, he managed to remain   
conscious enough to avoid serious injuries, but he wasn't aware anymore when the   
shuttle began to sink in the unstable ground.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, oblivious to his father's predicament, Luke rejoined his flagship The   
Freedom. Unlike his first visit after their bitter-sweet victory, troops   
weren't gathered to welcome him; only his first admiral, a few officers and a   
platoon of volunteers were present.   
  
While he reflected that it was still too much considering the 'great' results   
that he had gotten so far, he conceded that he would have to accept it as   
necessary for the troops.  
  
"Welcome back, Sir," Piett saluted him.  
  
"What is the status of Devarona?" he asked without preamble, inviting his   
officers to walk with him.  
  
"The riots are still going on, Sir," an officer answered seriously. "We   
informed Commander Mabar that we would rejoin her in ten hours. For the moment,   
her volunteers and troops have managed to keep the trouble from growing, but   
they can't stop it anymore."  
  
"Did she use the shield tactic?" he queried, turning toward his tactician.  
  
"Her ship didn't have the resources, Sir. We had counted on the local allies to   
help her," he reminded him.  
  
"Did they give any reason why they don't want to get involved?" he inquired as   
his group entered the main corridor that led to a bank of turbolifts.  
  
His public relation expert spoke up.  
  
"They say that they will suffer even more damage if they get involved with us,   
Sir," the newly promoted woman told him professionally. "They gave us some   
information about the identity of the groups that were responsible for the   
trouble, but they stopped all cooperation after another attack."  
  
"Understandable," he nodded, then stepped in the lift. "We have ten hours to   
prepare for this, lady and gentlemen," he began coolly. "When we leave   
Devarona's sector, it must be safe again. I will meet all of you in three hours   
in my quarters to discuss our options."  
  
The others saluted, then he was alone and winded down. The game was set now.   
He had returned aboard his ship and would take his hand-picked troops from   
besieged planet to besieged planet, and he 'would' restore peace and justice on   
each one of them.  
  
Personally.  
  
If he couldn't do it from Coruscant, he reflected once again, then he would do   
it his own way, in the thick of the action. It wouldn't take more time than if   
he were to rely on politics anyway, he shrugged slightly, and even better, he   
knew that it would show his true commitment to the population; he would also be   
able to discuss senatorial matters with the local governments during the clean-  
up procedures.  
  
Perhaps then, he thought glumly, he would have an idea as to how to proceed with   
this next step which would bring him one step closer from withdrawing from the   
political spotlight.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
On Dagobah, Anakin slowly woke up, groaning as a herd of banthas desperately   
tried to trundle their way out of his skull. What happened?, he wondered   
confusedly. Slowly, he called up his most recent memories.  
  
The long flight in hyperspace... the arrival on Dagobah--- the crash landing, he   
suddenly remembered even as a surge of adrenaline invaded his senses. The ship   
hadn't exploded yet, but it still might, he reminded himself even as he strove   
to recover his senses.   
  
Slowly testing himself to identify injured limbs, he opened his eyes and rolled   
on his side, then used a nearby seat to pull himself to a sitting position. He   
then glanced up at the viewport--- and froze. The shuttle wouldn't explode   
anytime soon, he surmised, but it was sinking under the ground.  
  
Instantly jumping to his feet, he called his lightsaber to his hand, then jumped   
and slashed the ceiling open. Dirt immediately found its way inside the ship;   
Anakin ignored it, focused his strength once again and jumped. He cleared   
himself from the sinking ship, then closed his blade and caught hold of a tree   
branch that was some ten meters above his crashing site.  
  
There, he hung from his left hand. When he glanced under him, he was just in   
time to watch the tip of the highest fin of the shuttle disappear as the planet   
'ate' the whole ship. Wherever he was, he reflected grimly, he was here to   
stay. As if to contradict him, his chosen branch suddenly gave slightly under   
him, dipping him back toward the 'hungry' ground.  
  
Still hanging from one hand only, Ani quickly studied his options and chose one.  
He stuffed his weapon in his belt, then took hold of his temporary refuge with   
his two hands and gathered an impulse; he swiftly swung himself back and forth   
until he felt that he had built up enough speed, then swung himself forward one   
last time, and let go of the branch. With a nudge of the Force, he balled up   
and tumbled in the air until he opened up once again; he landed a good fifteen   
meters away from the dangerous area.  
  
He turned around to gaze one last time at his lost ship. Luke wouldn't be   
happy, he reflected glumly, then felt a new pang of regret at the thought of his   
son. He hadn't meant to abandon him again, he comforted himself as he turned   
away from the sight of where his sole mean to return to him had been. He hadn't   
wanted to leave like a coward instead of facing the upcoming hardships with him.  
  
How was he doing?, he found himself wondering as he began to pick his way   
through the surrounding marsh. Was he finally enjoying a much deserved rest?   
Or were thing worse than worst? Whichever it was, he wasn't about to find out,   
he reflected glumly as he stopped to survey his new surroundings.  
  
Everywhere he gazed, he saw mist-blanketed, strangely twisted trees which were   
growing from the muddy ground. When he reached out with the Force, he could   
feel life around himself, but no Jedi Master... and no tug in the Force to guide   
him onward. As if, he suddenly reflected, the Force had brought him here only   
to leave him on his own...  
  
A condemnation for life, he understood, feeling his hopes dwindle even as his   
regret and guiltiness resurfaced to torment him. Suddenly bereft of his sole   
reason to keep going, his hopes, he sat down on a nearby rock, then bowed his   
head until he could bury it in his gloved hands. He should have known, he   
thought sadly, glumly, in defeat... There was no other issue for him but to be   
left alone with his past and his mistakes.  
  
He didn't move from his chosen rock for a long, long time...  
He wanted to die.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
In transit toward Devarona, Luke finished his meeting with his advisors, then   
motioned to Piett to stay for a longer while; he had to discuss about something   
in private with him. The older man remained in his seat while he himself stood   
up and stretched, working out the cramps which were resulting for hours of   
planning.  
  
"Do you think it will work?" he asked his admiral.  
  
"Your strategy worked well everywhere else, Sir," Piett answered him   
respectfully. "With you on the field as well, I can't see how we cannot   
succeed."  
  
Luke gave him a slightly amused glance at this, remembering their earlier   
debates about his taking part to the 'battles'. Piett and Theen had argued that   
he couldn't risk himself like this, but himself and his two other head officers   
had reminded them that he wouldn't be useful if the renegades continued to make   
trouble.  
  
"I just hope that the enemy hasn't developed a counter-attack to it," he   
admitted, gauging his admiral's reaction to his admission that he was worried   
about something.  
  
As he had expected, the other was surprised, but he had been in the imperial   
army for too long to allow himself much reaction. Hence, Luke waited for him to   
express himself.  
  
After a continued silence, the other finally understood this and spoke up.   
"Even... if they have, Sir," he began hesitantly, "you will be backed by the   
specially equipped TIE fighters and the waiting reinforcement."  
  
"Well, that's the idea at least," Luke agreed before he sat back at the planning   
table, locking his gaze with the one man he trusted almost as implicitly as he   
trusted his father. "However, if you feel or see anything that makes you doubt   
this, Admiral, I want you to follow your instincts and override the chain of   
command," he told him, dead serious.  
  
Despite his rigorous training, Piett's jaw hit the top of the table even as he   
worked hard to cover his improper reaction.  
  
"Sir?" he finally asked.  
  
"I trust you, Piett," Luke explained simply, "otherwise, I wouldn't have chosen   
you as admiral of the entire fleet. You have experience, and you know the   
troops abilities better than anyone else involved in this operation. If you   
detect a clue that our current strategy and back-ups won't suffice," he repeated   
his previous order, "I want you to override everything. Only restoring safety   
matters here."  
  
"But, Sir..." the older man began instantly.  
  
Luke glanced at him with a raised eyebrow, expressing his quiet confidence that   
this decision was the right one to make at the moment.  
  
"I... I know that you chose me because of this, Sir," Piett began formerly, "and   
I am honored to have your trust, but... I... I can't overrule your orders. I   
can only execute them, I---"  
  
"You will have a wider point of view than I will during the battle, and you have   
more experience than even Commander Mabar does. The tide of the battle will   
rest with you more than anybody else, Admiral," Luke finished seriously,   
emphasizing the man's title.  
  
Aware that the other man was growing used to the looser protocol around him,   
Luke almost smirked when the other gaped more openly at him, struck speechless   
by his statement.  
  
"Up to now, you have done a very good job overseeing the procedures of our first   
strategy, but it is now time to do more, Admiral," the youth informed him as he   
stood to his feet. "It is time for you to truly use your whole potential   
because we need it, all of us." The other remained silent, still under shock.  
"I don't read minds, Piett," Luke informed him seriously, "but I know that you   
have ideas, here," he commented, tapping the side of his head with his right   
index, "and that your decisions are led by what you feel, here," he finished,   
indicating his own heart. "For years now, you have been prohibited from using   
those, but I can feel, as evidently as I can see you, that it is time to pull   
free from those 'bonds' and fulfill your destiny."  
  
The older man was still silent, but he nodded slightly as he understood where he   
was going with this.  
  
"You don't need to have special powers to develop your potential, Sir. All you   
have to do," the young Jedi thought wistfully as he dimly remembered his own   
training, "is to free your mind from old beliefs and use it."  
  
He fell silent; only the low buzzing of the nearby holo projection answered him.   
In front of him, Piett lowered his eyes, obviously taking a moment to reflect on   
his words.  
  
Luke gave him that moment, and even an extra one.  
  
Finally, the other slowly stood to his feet, then squared his shoulders and   
gazed up at him.  
  
"I will be ready for trouble, Sir," he answered as steadily as he could, "and I   
will modify our strategy if need be."  
  
Luke smiled at him, then offered him his hand for a shake. The other seemed to   
hesitate, then he firmly took hold of it.  
  
"I knew I could count on you, Admiral," the young Jedi told him seriously, then   
let go of his hand. "I will inform the rest of the officers of this new   
procedure."  
  
As expected, the other's eyes widened slightly as he realized that it wasn't   
just a one time thing, then he snapped to attention and saluted him.  
  
"Thank you, Sir," Piett told him, then when Luke nodded, left the room.  
  
Now, the youth thought to himself, what remained to be seen is if he himself   
would be able to allow his full potential to come through.  
  
He hadn't said so to Piett, but it was more easily said than done.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
After leaving Ord Mantell, Mara decided to continue on her private war/defense.   
She had nothing else to do, and she knew that she was useful to the regular   
population. Hence, she watched the news to select a new destination... then   
programmed her destination in her computer.  
  
Devarona.  
  
The small, insignificant world was under siege and unlike other worlds, the   
situation was truly explosive, barely in control of the traitors who were under   
the orders of her ex-lover.  
  
The citizens there had already suffered from both riots and a few terrorist   
attacks, more designed to keep the authorities from joining the traitors than to   
truly hurt innocents, she understood as she read on her reports. Well, she   
admitted that she agreed with that; the traitors didn't need more allies, she   
reflected as she stood up and took off her cloak.   
  
As she did so, she dimly reflected that she still didn't know why she had taken   
to it as quickly as she had, but, she conceded, she loved to wear it; it seemed   
to belong on her shoulders. However, it wasn't the best training attire   
available, she reminded herself.   
  
She discarded it, then absently watched it float down on the co-pilot seat---   
She froze as another object caught her eye.  
  
Luke's mother's pendant.   
  
Just like the sight of her boyfriend had made her lose her anger both times she   
had checked up on him..., so did the sight of his gift. 'I'd be honored if   
you'd accept it as a gage of my enduring love for you,' he had said, perhaps not   
in those words, but the message had been clear anyway.  
  
Enduring love...  
  
Love... The presence of the other nearby... Their shared mind... All the   
time that they spent together either fighting or talking... Their love--------  
  
NO!!!!!!!!! Her brain viciously interrupted, cutting off her train of   
bittersweet thoughts. It had been a lie! Not true!, she vehemently tried to   
convince herself. Just like the rest of his friendship, she then mentally   
spat! ----and stopped.  
  
Luke hadn't lied to her, she seriously reminded herself. He hadn't lied to her   
when he had been seven years old, nor when they had been growing up and had   
shared their impossible training, then forbidden attraction. His care for her   
and his compassion hadn't been a lie, especially considering how much trouble   
they had gotten him into---   
  
It had been the true Luke, she slowly realized as the truth finally trickled   
past her inner veil of lies---- then she sat down hard on the deck in disbelief,   
and gaped at her mental discovery: she had it all wrong... Luke and his father   
weren't traitors... They had truly saved themselves and the whole galaxy while   
they were at it... Herself included...  
  
Slowly, as the memories of the past returned to her but truthful this time, her   
anger ebbed away in the wake of her re-emerging love for her boyfriend.  
  
Luke Vader had been the lie... but plain Luke, now Skywalker... had always been   
the truth, she finally understood in awe and respect. Luke had always loved and   
cared; whether it had been about his father, his sister, herself... or even the   
prisoners who had happened to be nearby during their operations, he had always   
cared. She berated herself for not seeing those for what they were. However,   
she knew that she wasn't the only one to blame... the... Emperor had more than   
convinced Luke and everyone around him that his care was a bad habit... a   
weakness he had to improve and strengthen.   
  
She herself had never even suspected that he was thus unknowingly keeping a   
Light Jedi alive in himself---- Suddenly, a memory of her fifteen-year-old   
friend being carried out of the throne room by his father's guards came back to   
her mind; the Emperor had known, she belatedly understood. He had known, had   
tried to kill the Jedi in Luke, with Luke's willing cooperation, then... when it   
hadn't worked... had meant to temper him by allowing them to be closer, she   
realized, dumbstruck.   
  
Somehow, she now understood, he had known that their closeness would keep her   
friend in the dark side track since she would be there to keep him in there...   
and if things came... to what they had come, she swallowed hard as more painful   
memories resurfaced in her mind... He had meant to use her as a spy on him.  
  
A plan, she gasped in disbelief... Then her anger grew strong and dark in her   
once more: it had only been one of her master's very elaborated, evil   
plans!!!!!! Everything she had always believed, and served... had been a lie..!   
Everything had----  
  
But no!, her inner self objected desperately, one thing had been true: Luke's   
love for her had been true! 'They' had been truthful with one another.   
However, she now understood why he had had to lie to her what he had pierced the   
veil of lies; he had been saving himself from her blind... slavery, she   
swallowed hard on the hated word. A slave, Luke had been right, they had all   
been slaves to the Emperor. She hadn't wanted to believe it, she admitted to   
herself as she buried her head in her hands in sadness, hadn't wanted to face   
what she could dimly feel as the truth, but now...   
  
Now she 'knew', she heartened herself, shoving away the clouds of despair. Now   
she could make it up to her lover. She knew what she had been blind to see   
while she had been under the Emperor's powers, even after his death... A death   
which she was shyly beginning to enjoy. The despot had lied to her, had taken--  
- How much had he taken???, she suddenly wondered, gazing up in worry even as   
she searched her mind for memories 'before' the Emperor... Nothing.   
  
Emptiness... No life... No family..., she gaped in shocked horror   
  
For the first time in her life, she became aware that her slaver had taken   
everything from her. She had never thought about this before, but now that she   
was--- It downright frightened her to not be able to even remember who she had   
been before he had entered her life. And unlike Luke, she didn't have...  
  
Her suddenly tears-filled eyes reflexively fell on the communication switch of   
her control board; she almost stood to her feet to call Luke and tell him what   
she had just discovered... how much she needed him---- Then she stopped herself.   
  
No, her mind seemed to tell her now, although reluctantly, she couldn't rely on   
her dear lover to face the destruction left behind by the Emperor... He would   
help her... but she herself still wouldn't know who she truly was. Her life   
might still remain a lie. Of course, she admitted, Luke would tell her that she   
was nice, compassionate, strong, and that he loved her, but he wouldn't give her   
the answers she was suddenly, desperately seeking.  
  
Was Mara Jade her real name? Were her skills natural or only the results of her   
hard training with Luke? Who was she? What were her true values? What did she   
really want?... And what was she supposed to be now if not an assassin or a   
warrior?   
  
The more she pondered her own identity, and the more she became aware that she   
didn't want anyone to give her the answers, not even her lover. For once in her   
life, she thought with a brief, silent thanks to her lover and his father, she   
was the master of her life; she wanted to remain so and to decide for herself   
because of what she believed in, just like Luke and his father had done while   
under the yoke of the Emperor, she reflected.   
  
At the moment, she then reflected with more determination, she believed in her   
own freedom from absolutely everybody... even Luke's love although this last one   
was not an easy choice.  
  
However, she promised herself as she slowly stood up and picked up the pendant,   
she would try to find a way to return to him, but on her own terms this time.  
No one would ever lie to her ever again, not even herself.  
  
"We will be together, some day, Luke," she said out loud to the pendant, then   
looped it around a nearby, protruding gauge.   
  
For the moment however, she reflected as she recovered her cooler edge, she was   
bound for Denavora; she could feel a guidance in the Force that was taking her   
there. She trusted it, she realized. The Force had never lied to her.   
  
The rest though... she had much thinking to do.  
  
  
  
TBC in part 5: Encounters 


	40. A Whole New Life 5: Encounters

A Whole New Life  
Part 5: Encounters  
By SJ 12-23-01/ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
  
WARNING: This part also deals with terrorism...  
  
__________________  
  
  
  
On Dagobah, a snapping sound suddenly tore Anakin from his barely aware state.   
He tiredly gazed around himself, searching for what had broken his growing   
depression.  
  
He thus missed the heavy animal which leapt on his back. However, the moment   
that its weight settled on his shoulders, he pulled it away from himself with   
the Force and turned on his lightsaber. The predator didn't understand its   
threat and leaped again at him.   
  
Anakin reflexively meant to slice him in two--- then swiftly changed his mind;   
he turned off his weapon and hit the animal hard under the neck with it. It   
knocked it out for the time being.   
  
With the threat out of the way, the ex dark lord took a moment to scan around   
himself; no other animal had followed this lone hunter. Hooking his saber back   
to his belt, he left his would-be attacker alone and headed straight forward...   
And wherever that direction would lead him.  
  
He walked fast, focusing his mind on where he set foot and how much ground his   
long, strong legs allowed him to cover.   
  
Those were his legs, his muscles, he finally thought after a while. After his   
betrayal, he had refused the muscular enhancing devices which had been proposed   
to him, instead relying on his own strength and pride to restore his legs as   
well as his back and arms. Today, he was truly glad of his choice; it meant   
less damage to bear and heal. Now, he thought glumly, slowly stopping to a   
halt, if only he could conceive exercises to restore his heart and lungs.  
  
As he continued to slow his pace, he gazed around himself once again; somehow,   
he reflected, he had the feeling that he had been in this location before. He   
couldn't see any difference in his surrounding landscape and the one he had left   
a while ago, except perhaps for the fallen animal which might have recovered   
from his attack, he conceded. But even if he weren't in the same place, he   
thought more glumgly, he was still...  
  
What was he doing?, he asked himself as he stopped completely and just stood   
there, lost once again. He had nowhere to go, didn't have much to eat except a   
few nutrient pills, and he didn't have any survival kit with himself.  
  
He was as good as condemned to die from starvation and thirst. Upon that   
thought, he considered not waiting this long and do the job by himself--- but   
before he had even taken hold of his weapon, a sudden memory of his son's   
features surged forth in his mind. Luke had been extremely sad when he had left   
him, he reminded himself, so he himself had promised him that he would someday   
return to him to give him hope; his son had taken this promise to heart,   
trusting him to be true to his word.  
  
He couldn't do this to his son, he thought glumly. He couldn't destroy his   
hopes just because he himself thought that he deserved death for his past. As   
long as he would live, he decided seriously, almost earnestly, there would be   
hope that he might return to Luke someday. Hence, he had to fight on, for his   
son this time.  
  
Thus, forcing down his regret, shame and rising fear about what the Force might   
have in store for him, he sat down on the mossy ground, closed his eyes, then   
tried to meditate his options. Seconds turned into minutes, which then turned   
into hours as his lack of equipment kept challenging his creativity to the   
utmost.  
  
Sometime later, while he was taking a break from debating with himself, he   
reflected that he would welcome his daughter's company... if she could find him.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
In deep space, Luke's flagship finally reached its destination. In its hold,   
the volunteers were ready to go down to the surface, and the specially equipped   
TIE fighters were primed for action.  
  
Aboard the drop ship, Luke requested an update on the situation; commander Mabar   
informed him that new enemy reinforcement had come out of nowhere and that the   
now bigger group was getting out of her control. The troops were undoubtedly   
exhausted, Luke reflected while he listened to the rest of her report; he   
decided to to pull them back as soon as possible.   
  
Once she was finished with her report, he informed her of their new strategy,   
then told her to withdraw her troop when they themselves would take over. Then,   
he gave orders to launch the operation... and was on his way toward yet another   
battle.  
  
The new government, he reflected sadly, hadn't been a positive change so far...  
  
  
  
  
  
Luke's first target proved to be much tougher than he had first estimated,   
coming up with surprises such as choking gas bombs and paralyzing shocks before   
slithering out from the security perimeter and wreak more havoc in the already   
besieged city of Oase.   
  
Luke and his group chased them wherever they went, intent on finding a strategy   
to control them; his men followed, galvanized by his determination to put the   
riots to an end and more than eager to share their ideas when he asked for   
opinions.  
  
In short, the young Jedi was totally focused on his chosen duty... so much so   
that he failed to notice the presence of an observer nearby.  
  
  
  
  
Not too far from the now quiet zone of 'battle', brilliant green eyes peered   
around the corner of a wall and gazed at the unfolding events from the depth of   
her camouflage cloak and cowl. The fight was moving north once again, Mara   
estimated; she discreetly followed the men's tracks, careful to not be seen by   
anyone, nor felt by her lover. She tried to catch up with his group as fast as   
she could.  
  
When had landed on Devarona, she hadn't known what she was looking for there   
except for one thing: whatever the Force had been guiding her to. Thus, she had   
walked down the very deserted streets, her hands near her weapons in case she   
needed them. Unlike usually though, she hadn't hunted down any targets;   
instead, she had walked further inside the city, trusting her feelings to guide   
her toward something that would help her in her quest...  
  
She had stumbled on yet another battle, this time led by ex-Luke Vader.  
  
At first, she had reflexively moved to go to his help, then had as quickly   
entertained the thought to run away and pretend that she hadn't seen him, but   
neither options had won. Instead, she had remained hidden in the shadows of the   
nearby alley and had watched him as he had striven to control the now gathered   
groups of rioters.  
  
She hadn't expected to see him here, she thought as she watched him fight   
against a strong, burly man. She had thought that he would stay on Coruscant,   
keeping an eye on everything instead of focusing on one planet at the time.  
She had obviously been wrong, she admitted as he managed to dispatch his   
attacker and stunned a few men near him--- then a signal came from somewhere and   
the rioters broke away from the Peace volunteers. Luke didn't let them get away   
that easily; he went right after them, dragging his troops after him.  
  
Once he was out of her sight, 'she' too ran after 'him' and tried to understand   
her more than strange behavior; she had never, ever done anything as foolish as   
to watch a battle, she conceded.  
  
Well perhaps that was what she needed to do, a little voice then commented   
inside herself. She then admitted that she had asked for help to put things in   
correct perspective this time; this 'had' to be an answer, she thought uneasily.   
However, she couldn't deny what her first observations had done to her. For the   
first time since she had become an assassin, she had watched the resulting chaos   
of battle from the outside; she had even begun to understand for real the   
implications of what her life had been up to now. It hadn't been a good life,   
she admitted, then conceded that it was particularly peculiar to 'watch' her   
lover doing those things. Somehow, she reflected, it really didn't seem   
right... yet he had the right attitude to not be more violent than he needed to,   
she admitted with respect. She ducked in an alley and jumped on an overhead   
staircase to gain a better point of view on what she could now feel ahead of   
herself.   
  
Perhaps, she also conceded to herself, she needed to study Luke to know if she   
really loved him or if her love for him had also been a lie. After all, he too   
was not as she used to know him.  
  
With that thought, she ran as fast as she could to the edge of the roof, and   
gazed down at the ongoing turmoil in the street. She thus witnessed Luke's   
actions as his group pressed their advantage and went for the in-depth move that   
she had seen on Ord Mantell. Her eyes instinctively searched her friend's   
form... and found him; he was smack-dab in the middle of the charging group.  
  
While she saw the beginning of an ally's victory which once again turned into a   
stinging defeat, she reflected that it both surprised her yet didn't really   
surprise her to find him in that critical position. It was both Luke-the-  
determinate-man, and Luke-the-caring-man who were fighting against the imps as   
they produced weapons that neutralized the close-quarters attacks. Between the   
paralyzing shocks of the imps and her lover's no-killing strategies, fierce   
hand-to-hand duels quickly followed... several of which her dear friend put to   
an end despite the fact that he himself was being assailed.  
  
He didn't take too much of a punishment, she estimated as she followed him from   
one fight to another; despite the distance, she saw the fire of his   
determination in his eyes, his dedication to his goal and what he needed to do   
to reach it. He wasn't doing this because he wanted to be hurt, nor because he   
needed to vent, like she herself had done until lately; he was down in the   
streets because he couldn't think of another way to reach his goal.   
  
While she considered what she had just understood about her 'new' boyfriend, she   
observed the switch in his strategy when he decided to use stun blasts against   
the imps who were protected by personal shields, but as if aware of the same   
weakness that Luke had meant to exploit, namely the short life of such shields,   
the remaining troublemakers produced gas bombs which effectively hid them from   
Luke's group--- and allowed them to run away from the allies once again.  
  
She sighed at this, just as Luke seemed to sigh in disappointment, but unlike   
her lover, who kept hope of vanquishing his current opposition, she herself   
didn't feel the 'need' to go after the trouble makers and seek more violence.   
In fact, she conceded with herself, the more she watched the ongoing battle, and   
the more she became aware that the mere thought of shooting someone ever again   
was sickening her to the heart.   
  
She had killed so much already... She would never be able to forgive herself for   
those, she thought glumly, then refocused on her boyfriend's location as his   
group once again ran after the other group.  
  
Thanks to Luke's sensing skills, she suspected that they would catch up with the   
troublemakers before they ever realized that they had been tracked down once   
again; she abandoned her chosen rooftop and headed for the location of the   
upcoming new round between her boyfriend and the rioters of Oase.  
  
Unlike her previous perch though, she had to remain on street level this time; a   
few seconds later, she thanked the Force for this new set-up. TIE fighters came   
screaming from the higher atmosphere and opened fire on everyone who was now   
facing off in the square of a main plaza. At first deeply worried about Luke's   
safety, she almost broke out of her hiding place and went to him to cover him or   
take him out of range--- then her brain registered the fact that the fighters   
were shooting stun bolts, not regular bolts.  
  
Everyone fell under the assault... even Luke, who couldn't resist all the bolts   
that hit him at the same time. When the TIEs flew away from the area, no one was   
moving anymore in the nearby streets.  
  
At first, she pondered how to interpret what she had just seen: weakness for   
having no choice but to rely on such a tactic? Or...  
  
Or strength!!, she realized. The New Republic and its Peace Volunteers were   
stronger than even the Empire had ever been because they could blindly trust   
their allies. She conceded that it was a most awesome strength, much like what   
had made herself and Luke so efficient as agents; they had known that they could   
rely on each other no matter what...  
  
From the depth of her chosen alley, she refocused on the present and the quiet   
street beyond the narrow walls. For long, too long minutes, her boyfriend, who   
had collapsed in her field of vision, remained still, as did everyone in the   
surrounding streets.  
  
Would anyone come for them? she wondered worriedly, or were they left to awake   
on their own, hopefully faster than the rioters. As if to answer her question,   
new shuttles appeared in the sky as they began their landing procedures: they   
set down nearby and begun to pick allies from enemies.  
  
  
Mara didn't pay them any attention, her eyes riveted on her lover while her mind   
sifted through everything she had seen and felt while watching the battles;   
unbeknown to her, she had just made an important decision concerning her future.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, Luke, who had resisted the effects of the TIE's stun blasts, still   
needed a little time to completely shake off the effects of the repeated hits.   
He wasn't unconscious, yet he wasn't conscious either.  
  
When he recovered his senses, the now rested volunteers of Mabar's team were   
already sifting the troublemakers from the regular troops, locking the rioters   
in a transport.   
  
Barely suppressing a groan of complaint at the effects of the stun blasts, he   
pushed himself from the concrete-covered street, then slowly sat up to study the   
results of Piett's intervention. No one was hurt, and they had plenty of time   
to clean up the streets.  
  
"Are you all right, Sir?" a nearby trooper asked him as he and his partner   
walked closer to his location to take custody of a ruffian who was still   
slumbering just beside him.  
  
"Yes, not a scratch," he reassured them, then winced as his injured back   
reminded him that he 'did' have scratches to take care of.  
  
Still, he reflected with a sigh of relief, they were not that serious and would   
easily be tended. It was nothing compared to what the city had to rebuild after   
the thirteen-day-long siege, he then thought seriously.  
  
While he stood to his feet, he made a note to himself to check up with the local   
organizations as soon as they would recover from their panicky state; he knew   
that they had been worried when the Freedom had come out of hyperspace. It was   
normal, he conceded, especially considering that its size was much more imposing   
than that of the Liberator.  
  
However, he decided as he gazed around himself once more, he was proud of how   
the operation had proceeded. They hadn't added to the already present damage,   
and no one had gotten hurt. As he looked around himself to survey the clean-up   
procedures, he nodded in new relief. Their strategy should convince the local   
administrations to rally themselves to them, but most important for the moment,   
to allow them to help them for the reconstruction.  
  
First however, he reflected more glumly as he searched himself for his comlink,   
they had to intervene in the three other cities. He finally located his comlink   
somewhere near the small of his back. Dimly wondering how it had gotten there,   
he pulled it free and activated it.  
  
"Admiral Piett," he inquired, then cleared his throat to rid it of its last   
remnants of dryness. "What's the status of the three other targets."  
  
"They are also under control, Sir," came the surprising answer.  
  
"Why so?" he frowned even as he reached out to sense the current of the Force   
around himself.  
  
Dark feelings of fear and violence weren't stirring it anymore.  
  
"When the all-out attack of the TIEs worked with your group, Sir, I ordered them   
to do the same thing with the other cities. I wasn't expecting as good results   
as with your group, but the rioters were caught off guard and fell."  
  
Luke remained silent; it was his turn to be speechless in surprise.  
  
"The whole siege is over then?" he asked despite his gaping mouth.  
  
"All four targets are free, Sir, and a few others around the galaxy have also   
fallen."  
  
When Piett had forwarded the information to the units who could hastily fit TIEs   
with stun blasts weapons instead of regular ones, he understood. His chosen   
right arm truly was full of potential, he smiled to himself as he finished to   
surmise what had happened while he had been napping.  
  
"How many more targets did we recover?" he inquired hopefully.   
  
Piett seemed to turn away from his comlink, probably to read data, then came   
back to him.   
  
"A total of twenty five sieges are lifted, Sir."  
  
Not bad, he nodded to himself, but no where near enough to scream 'victory'.  
  
"Excellent work, Admiral. Forward the schematics of the modified TIEs to all   
our units."  
  
"Yes, Sir," the other clipped respectfully, then Luke cut off the transmission.  
  
So the fights were over for this world and it was time to reconstruct. He   
surveyed his surroundings one last time, then headed for the closest medical   
shuttle. A quick patch, he reflected, then he would pay a visit to the local   
city hall.   
  
He was so absorbed in his thoughts of how he would begin his true work that he   
missed the familiar presence who watched him from a closer point of view from   
the shadows.  
  
  
  
Mara followed his receding figure, fighting hard against herself to not go after   
him and signal her presence to him. Yes, he was a different man from the one   
she had grown up with, she conceded to her wary self--- but he was also the very   
same man she had fallen in love with!!, her heart screamed desperately; she   
couldn't let him go away once again---   
  
But she had to, her inner voice stopped her from stepping out of the shadows.   
She would eventually return to him, it told her soothingly, but that moment   
hadn't come yet. She hadn't dealt yet with the most serious issues that   
remained between her new and her old life, and for the moment Luke's life was   
too much like their old ones to help her continue her emotional healing.  
  
While she pondered that instinctive thought, she also reflected that she had   
never seen Luke quite like what she had seen today, yet, she conceded, she had.  
He had had exactly the same commanding presence than when he had been a Dark   
Jedi, but at the same time, his care and love weren't restrained to herself only   
anymore.  
  
Now, she understood, it was who he was, what drove him onward, guided him in his   
plans... It was both a weakness and a strength. He had failed to contain the   
outlaws in a more expedite manner because he had obviously been willing to   
sacrifice his troops anymore than what he had already done, but, she thought   
more gently, he had also been successful without shedding anymore blood.   
Impressive, she nodded as he disappeared up the lowered ramp.   
  
However, she admitted more seriously once he was out of her sight, his overall   
strategy truly didn't sit well with her, either as her old self or her new,   
unknown self. Oh, she conceded, she wasn't angry at him about the Emperor, not   
anymore, she thought as she forced her anger out of her mind at the memories of   
what the fiend had done to them. On the other hand though, she still didn't   
agree with a coup, and even less with the swift revelation to the whole galaxy.  
  
'That', not her lover, not his father, but that little flaw in their daring plan   
was responsible for the pain and suffering that was suffocating the current of   
the Force lately. If only for that, she slowly realized, she truly couldn't   
return to him yet; she would probably constantly scold him every time needless   
violence would come up in their world.  
  
Slowly, although still reluctantly, she turned away and disappeared in the   
night. The revelation, she nodded her head in conviction, had been a less than   
wise tactic to use; it had brought nothing but chaos and more suffering.  
  
Instead of doing this, she thought seriously, Luke and his father should have   
exterminate the 'vermin' from the new Empire before bringing about serious   
changes. Still, she sighed, it was too late to change this, and Luke... was too   
good a man to resume his dark behavior, she conceded, even to cover up the   
truth.  
  
That thought instantly made her yearn for him, but she pushed the ensuing images   
out of her mind. Even if he would always love her, she tried to reason herself,   
it could not be for the moment; the outside violence was quickly becoming a   
serious deterrent in their interrupted relationship. In fact, she admitted, the   
only thought that truly allowed her to stay away from him was that she knew that   
she would return to a temporary violent life if she went back to him, and, to   
her greatest surprise and utter confusion, she didn't want to live like that   
ever again.   
  
After watching with her 'new' eyes for nearly eight hours what her life could be   
once again, she now 'knew' that she wouldn't be able to bear it and would leave   
him once again... Better wait and use the time alone to figure who she wanted   
to be from now on, she reflected sadly. Her old life truly was over now, she   
thought glumly yet not regretfully.   
  
However, she admitted sadly as she disappeared in the night, she truly missed   
her lover and knowing what she had to do for herself didn't make it any easier   
for her to leave him once again.  
  
In time, she promised herself before she refocused on the Force and on what it   
wanted to guide her toward. In time they would be together.  
  
The Force brought her back to her ship, then guided her fingers into the   
programming of a new destination.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
On Dabogah, Ani slowly set up some kind of shelter for himself. First, he found   
a dry, rocky cave where he tried to light a fire, then, hours later when he   
finally managed to dry his first twig with the Force and ignited it, he gathered   
more wood to make it dry thanks to the warmth of his growing firewood.  
  
Once this was settled, he began to carve rough tools which then turned useful to   
transform wooden logs into a few bowls. That would do for food or water, he   
thought to himself, then another idea came to him. If he could find a piece of   
leather, he reflected, he would be able to make himself a water skin which would   
then...  
  
His eyes rested on his leather trousers, gloves and sleeves. He had all the   
leather he needed to make himself even more than one water skin, he realized,   
the problem being that he would be exposed to the humidity if he touched that...  
  
Unless, he thought seriously, an idea slowly taking shape in his mind, unless he   
could retrieve some articles from his recently sunken ship. Gathering his   
resolve, he covered the entrance of his chosen cave with his cloak, protecting   
the fire within from any water or humidity, then walked back toward his crashing   
site.  
  
He now knew that he wasn't that far from it.  
  
  
  
An hour and a half later, Anakin finally reached his destination. He surveyed   
his surroundings, then switched his focus and searched under the misleading   
ground.  
  
It took him a while, but he finally found the remnants of his presence, some   
seventy meters under the ground. Since he wasn't searching for living things   
though, he knew that he couldn't rely on his senses alone. Hence, he called up   
an image of what the ship had looked like inside, then he imagined himself   
taking hold of the repair kit and pulled it out of the ship. Slowly, he saw it   
as it rose up, never taking his mind off this image--- then the kit literally   
popped out of the ground.  
  
He pulled it toward himself, allowed himself a smirk of satisfaction, then   
settled himself on the ground. It would be a long meditation process before he   
had everything he could recover from the ship.  
  
  
  
Slowly but surely, he pulled out everything he remembered from the inside of the   
ship, not caring at all if it would be useful to him or not. For the moment,   
the only thing that mattered was that he would have more than just what he was   
wearing as resources to set up his shelter. Hopefully, he thought as he opened   
his eyes to see the result of his 'fishing', it would be enough to allow him to   
survive until he could see his son again.  
  
Armor or not, he thought, closing his eyes again to resume his meditation, he   
would know not to waste the time that they were given together.  
  
And so it went for hours.  
  
  
  
When he reopened his eyes, night had fallen, leaving him in total darkness.   
Slowly, he stood to his feet, stretched his cramped muscles, then turned on his   
lightsaber and used it to survey his handiwork.  
  
Well, he smirked to himself, now, there only was the problem of bringing   
everything back to his refuge.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
The morning didn't come fast enough for Luke Skywalker.  
  
After healing himself and spending most of the night reading reports about the   
actual state of the city of Oase, he brought his shuttle on the landing platform   
of the city hall, then waited for its occupants to show up for work. Instead of   
calling them for an emergency meeting, he had decided to work on his patience.  
  
Thus, he sat cross-legged on the roof-like structure and locked his gaze on the   
far away cities, then the even further away stars which were disappearing in the   
morning sky.  
  
All those lives, he reflected with a sigh, those numerous souls who had trusted   
him when he had told them that they would never know fear ever again. He dimly   
wondered who had been more naive. Them? Or him?   
  
He had known that ex-imperials would try to wreak havoc, his father had known,   
he thought, feeling a tightening in his chest at the thought of his father.  
  
Where was he now? How was he?, he wondered glumly. Had he found a safe heaven   
from which he would eventually contact him to at least allow them to be together   
again, if only secretly?.. Or had he come back on his promise and done   
something he himself could understand but would blame himself for forever?  
  
*Father,* he sadly called through the Force, feeling an even worse emptiness in   
him than his previous one as he allowed himself to miss his father.  
  
He had thought that he had accepted it, that he was strong now... but he   
discovered that he had been wrong. Just like when he had been a child, he   
sorely missed the reassuring presence of his father, his experience and wisdom   
in the matters of life. He himself was only trained in the matters of the army-  
--   
  
He didn't know how to rule well, and he was alone with that burden, he thought   
in despair, allowing his tears to come forth. He couldn't talk about this with   
anyone, not even Piett although he had identified the man as his new private   
advisor, even surrogate father, he conceded although the other would have a   
heart attack if he knew, he admitted with a sad smile.  
  
*Father, I need your help, please?* he called out, and met with the same   
emptiness which he always met whenever he and his father were parsecs away.  
  
He couldn't go on alone, he thought glumly, lowering his chin to his chest. He   
was going to make a mess more than he would fix it... Even now, he admitted to   
himself, he had abandoned the Senate project to focus on the riots and their   
military counter-attacks.  
  
Sure, he wanted to protect the innocents, but, he admitted shamefully, it was   
also because they represented a territory he was much more familiar with than   
politics. And worse than worst, he sighed in frustration, he couldn't trust any   
politician with the Senate because he wasn't sure that he would be able to trust   
them, even with his Force sensing abilities.  
  
"If only..."  
  
  
  
  
  
"the Rebel Alliance weren't destroyed," Luke admitted glumly, then gazed up at   
his right arm.  
  
If Piett was surprised by his latest admission of vulnerability, he didn't   
comment on it. Instead, he turned back toward the bay window as they surveyed   
the deployment of the few drop ships which carried supplies to help the besieged   
cities.  
  
"The local law enforcers gave you their allegiance, Sir, didn't they?" he   
inquired instead.  
  
Luke smirked slightly at his attempt to reassure him by changing the subject.  
  
"They did," he answered with a sigh, then turned away from the window bay and   
walked toward the nearby desk. "However, without a Senate in function, I don't   
know how long they will remain with us before they choose their independence,"   
he explained seriously.  
  
That drew a slight reaction from the older man. He turned toward him,   
skillfully covering his gape of surprise.  
  
"We will bring back the Senate, won't we, Sir?" he inquired with just a touch of   
doubt in his voice.  
  
"Yes," Luke nodded, then allowed his shoulders to stoop and he hid his hands in   
his pockets. "I just don't know when," he informed the older man.  
  
For a moment, the other gazed at him; Luke barely met his gaze, aware that his   
young age was more than obvious at the moment, but he didn't care.  
He was truly lost, and had no one to turn to.  
  
"Sir," Piett finally said, taking a step closer to him, "if I may, we 'must' be   
faithful to this promise and restore it as soon as possible," he continued   
earnestly.   
  
"I know," he nodded in answer, "but I don't have the slightest idea how to avoid   
the mistakes of the past."  
  
Piett remained silent, slightly tilting his head in interest.  
  
Luke continued: "We're talking about more than a thousand individuals who will   
decide the future of every citizen in the galaxy," he reminded the other. "How   
can I be sure that they won't be corrupted? That they will serve the citizens,   
not their own goals?"  
  
"Well, how about using your powers, Sir?" Piett suggested easily, then seemed to   
realize what he had done.  
  
He was finally growing more comfortable with him, Luke sighed in slight relief.  
It was very small though compared to his big worry.  
  
"I don't want to read minds," he told the other seriously, then shrugged:   
"besides, can we truly find uncorrupted politicians?"  
  
Like Leia or Mother? he added to himself, wishing for the hundredth time that   
day that his sister would still be with him.  
  
"I... see your point, Sir," the older man answered at last, then bravely added:   
"However, Sir, if you'll pardon my saying so, you can't stay alone at the head   
of the galaxy."  
  
"I know," the youth nodded, locking his gaze with the older man's, "and I don't   
want to either," he added earnestly.   
  
For a long moment, both remained solemnly silent, then his admiral shyly cleared   
his throat.  
  
"Do you expect anything from me, Sir?" he asked bravely.  
  
"No," Luke shook his head, "but I wanted you to know the exact status of our   
promises."  
  
"I understand Sir," Piett nodded, then saluted. "I'm sure you will find a   
solution, Sir. After all, you managed to kill the Emperor and to destroy the   
Rebellion."  
  
Always with help, Luke reflected to himself as he slightly nodded in agreement,   
then silently dismissed the older man. Talking had helped him slightly, he   
conceded, but he was still faced with the same problem.  
  
He was still lost.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
More days passed by.  
  
For Anakin, they were spent building up a shelter which would be more than a   
temporary refuge. He didn't know how long he would be stranded on Dagobah.  
  
It took him two days to bring back to his cave what he had retrieved from the   
fallen ship. Then, from preparing his water skins to adapting his salvaged   
goods to what he would need on this planet, he slowly arranged the inside of the   
cave so that he would be sheltered from the elements, would be able to   
adequately cook his food, and would even have a more or less comfortable corner   
to sleep or meditate.  
  
He also made himself a few storage bins where his other salvaged clothes and   
other damageable goods would be safe from unfortunate accidents. While he was   
so engaged, he didn't think much, instead focusing on what he had to do with   
what he had at his disposal.  
  
However, once he was done with even his first hunt for something edible, he had   
nothing else to do but think.  
  
His first thought went to his son, whom he missed sorely.  
  
What was going on with him?, he wondered, gazing up at the patch of sky which   
was seeable through a corner of his makeshift door. Was he all right, wherever   
he was? Had he felt what had happened to him? Would he ever forgive him for   
not listening to him and facing the future as he did instead of running away   
like a coward?  
  
But he was a coward, wasn't he? he berated himself, turning his helmet-covered   
head back toward his slowly cooking, plucked bird. Oh yes, he sneered at   
himself, he had once again chosen the easiest solution: run away instead of   
facing the problem. Sure, he told himself mercilessly, he had been angry enough   
to face off with countless Jedi warriors, but when he had had to face 'the'   
enemy... When he had had to choose between his love for his wife and his fear of   
Palpatine...  
  
"Ah," he spat in disgust, "the greatest Jedi indeed."   
  
Had he not been such a fool, he practically mentally whipped himself with his   
self-resent, he would have seen Palpatine's lies for what they had been, would   
have stood up to him with the rest of the Jedi order, and he and Padme would   
have been happy ever after.  
  
Instead, he continued to mentally torture himself, his hands were covered with   
so much blood that he couldn't wash them clean anymore; he was even afraid to   
atone for his wrongs.  
  
'Afraid that the others will do to you what you did to them?,' his vicious   
consciousness pried on.  
  
Frozen with guilt and fear, his more vulnerable self, the one he had salvaged   
from the Dark Side, silently nodded, speechless as the images of what he had   
made others suffer came back to him.  
  
'Well it would only be your due,' his dark-side remnants continued to torment   
him, adding to his distress.  
  
Anakin couldn't resist the onslaught, not when he knew how true everything he   
had just thought was. Slowly, completely forgetting is now slowly charcoal-  
baked diner, he buried his masked face into his whitish, exposed hands, then   
allowed himself to gnaw on his self-recriminations and self-disgust.  
  
Why was he still alive?, he asked the unseen Force. He should be dead,   
shouldn't be free... He deserved the torment of his mask and medical   
apparatuses... and more.  
  
No answer came to him except the soft crackling of the fire as it continued to   
cook his meal until it was rock-hard and uneatable.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Two weeks after the beginning of the operations with the TIE fighters back-up,   
Luke's teams had managed to appease almost fifteen other planets when new   
trouble arose.  
  
The enemy found a way to resist the TIE fighters by lessening the importance of   
the riots and increasing the damage of the terrorist attacks.   
  
What had begun as mostly uncoordinated demonstrations had definitely become   
well-organized, Luke reflected sadly as he picked his way inside what remained   
of an art museum on Tandroshan. While his teams were busy in other, more   
damaged rooms, he had been drawn to this room, perhaps to think more clearly...   
or perhaps to admit failure, he conceded.  
  
The bombs had detonated early in the morning, when visitors hadn't begun yet to   
invade the place, but still... If only he could prevent those, the young Jedi   
wished as he bent down and pulled the remnants of a painting from under a mound   
of reinforced glass and horribly bent steel.  
  
Everyone outside was expecting him to come up with a solution to stop the   
carnage. He couldn't disappoint them again... yet, he admitted once again to   
himself, he was at a lost for ideas.  
  
He gazed around himself once again, then back at the piece of canvas in his   
hand. Like the rest of the museum, nothing much was left of the artwork. Only   
a section of the canvas remained, allowing him to suspect that this painting had   
been part of a pre-space travel era collection.  
  
The fighters on the painting were armed with what looked like power-plugged   
blasters, and the nearby vehicles seemed to sit directly on the ground. Pre-  
space flight era, he thought dimly, yet they were already fighting and killing   
each other.  
  
Would it always be like this?, he wondered sadly, suddenly feeling as if he were   
fighting against something impossible to defeat. Would living beings always   
feel an urge to take lives? Would anything he do change anything? At the   
moment, he knew that the answer was no.   
  
Even if he managed to save some lives, several more were wasted on other   
planets, and no matter how his troops were dedicated to peace, they could only   
do so much against a galaxy-wide coordinated attack. Perhaps he should just   
withdraw and let the galaxy decide for itself, he thought seriously, but not for   
too long.  
  
The moment that such thoughts entered his mind, images of bloody carnage, dark   
chaos and misery assailed his soul. If he withdrew, a never-ending Night would   
fall on the galaxy, a dim voice told him before it too disappeared.  
  
Shocked by this experience, the youth remained still, gazing absently at the   
painting in his hands.  
  
How could he be this important?, he asked the now silent voice. How could he be   
this essential to ever-lasting serenity? He was just a man, and a very ordinary   
man at that, as Mara would tell him were she here... For once though, he   
thought sadly, she would be proud of him; he wasn't having any delusions of   
grandeur.  
  
However, what was he supposed to do? he wondered, briefly looking in his back as   
he had sometimes done when seeking his father's advice... Naturally, his father   
wasn't there.  
  
Sighing heavily, he refocused on the painting, then shifted his eyes--- and saw   
another remnant of a painting. Walking over it, he saw that it was about   
another battle, but this time there were ships in the sky. The fighting tactics   
had also changed, he noted, studying the entrenched men and the advancing   
ones...   
  
He gaped as he understood what he was suddenly going on; it was a message from   
the Force.  
  
Another remnant of colored canvas caught his attention. Pulling it out, he saw   
that it was about yet another battle, but definitely in space this time---  
Then it definitely clicked.  
  
He wasn't completely alone; others had fought battles before and their   
experience was his to use.  
  
Time to go back to school, he thought to himself, leaving the room to rejoin his   
troops. He and his teams had some serious reading to do and several lives to   
save.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
TBC in part 6: understandings  
  
  
SJ: Skyjade@globetrotter.net (any positive stuff is welcome, but negative or   
mean comments will be thrown down the Sarlacc's throat without being read.) 


	41. a Whole New Life 6: Understandings

A Whole New Life  
Part 6: Understandings  
By SJ 12-23-01/ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
  
  
WARNING: This part also deals with Terrorism and the horrors of galactic   
domination.  
  
__________________  
  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, Mara had followed her instincts and gone to a new, unfamiliar planet:   
Capara. There, she had discovered that the small city of Bantul, in which she   
had landed, had become the main safe port for countless refugees who had been   
rescued during what was now known as Skywalker's coup.   
  
At first, she had thought that she had been brought by the Force to such a place   
because her parents were part of the refugees, but a few hours after beginning   
her inquiries, her inner guidance had disappeared, leaving her alone with no   
idea what she was supposed to do now.  
  
Three days later, and still no new feelings, she was seriously debating whether   
she should stay or just leave what seemed to be a dead end. She had better   
things to do with her time, she reflected as she made her way in a crowded   
restaurant. For one thing, she then admitted to herself, she might consider   
gathering information to help Luke while remaining away from him. The news   
weren't improving... and she herself had discovered that whether she approved   
violence or not, she could still help people with her skills.  
  
She smiled slightly at the memory of the previous night. She had been out in   
the streets, still searching for something even if she didn't know what it was--  
- when a wave of fear had invaded her senses. She had instantly surmised that   
someone nearby was in trouble; without wasting a moment, she had sought the   
source of the sending, then had acted. The street thugs never knew what had hit   
them, and, she smiled in pride, it was doubtful that they had pierced the enigma   
at all.   
  
While knowing that she had helped someone for real did wonders for her overall   
mood, Mara had also realized that using her abilities as she had done hadn't   
woken up the usual aggressive feelings in her. Instead, she had moved in   
accordance to what she could feel she 'had' to do, and unlike the practically   
intoxicating surge of power that she had felt back on Ord Mantell, she had felt   
a quiet, light energy fill her; it had given her the ability to help the people   
around her without the need to hate anyone, not even her enemies.  
  
'That', she conceded, sat better with her. She still wasn't sure if this was   
what she wanted to do, but, she sighed, she did have abilities that could be   
more than useful at the moment.  
  
With that though, she picked up her copy of the morning news. She read them and   
saw that her far-away boyfriend had managed to neutralize another group, thus   
freeing yet another planet from chaos. Well, she conceded, one more free; it   
only left about seventy of them, she thought in slight, still surviving resent.   
  
Even though she knew that he was doing everything he could to fix his mistake,   
and even though she herself had pierced her own veil of lies to see her old life   
for what it had been... There were still times when she truly resented Luke and   
his father for changing anything in the first place.   
  
If nothing had changed, she wanted to argue with her friend, she wouldn't be   
questioning her very existence on a backwater planet, the galaxy wouldn't be   
suffering more than under their now pacified Empire--- and they would be   
together once again, she finished sadly, lowering her eyes to hide her sudden   
tears.   
  
Blast it, she scolded herself. It wasn't the place to crumple. She couldn't   
let Luke's absence affect her this way, she tried to strengthen herself; when   
she had been an agent, she had gone for months without seeing him and without   
crying. This was exactly like a mission, she told herself: she had a goal to   
reach, namely find her real self, and then she would go back to him, for he   
himself hadn't changed 'too' much; she knew that she still loved him.  
  
But first, she reminded herself to counter the new wave of emotion that   
threatened to overwhelm her, she had to finish her mission.  
  
Refocusing on her whereabouts, she set her pad down as the waiter droid came   
nearby to take her order; once she was alone again, she gazed around herself.   
Mainly men and women en route for work, she noticed--- then her eyes stopped on   
two men who were discussing the news that she had read.  
  
At first sight, nothing peculiar attracted her attention, but as she tried to   
understand her strange reflex to seek them out once again, she slowly grew aware   
of her returned tug in the Force. 'This', it seemed to tell her, 'is what you   
are looking for.'  
  
Careful to not be caught staring at them, she finished her sweep around the   
room, then enhanced her hearing sense until she could hear them clearly. Two   
words instantly caught her attention.  
  
Children refugees.  
  
Clearing her mind from everything except her focus, she strained to maintain her   
contact with one of the men's mind.  
  
"If only the Empire had died earlier," the first man commented, "we would be   
able to save more lives now."  
  
While she listened, Mara turned her head once again in their general direction;   
this time, she recognized the men's clothes as medical suits... While she took   
in the implicit meaning of this discovery, she surmised that they were probably   
working at the nearby medcenter.  
  
"Sure would," his companion agreed. "Despite all the technology at our disposal,   
several beings from the last ships won't make it... They are either too sick..."  
  
"Or too injured," the other continued for him. His voice then hardened: "Cursed   
Imperial camps. What was their goal anyway?" he asked vehemently.  
  
Imperial camps? Mara frowned to herself. She had never heard about such camps,   
but filed the word for latter inquiry as she listened on the conversation.  
  
"Better not ask about that," his colleague answered. "To think that a living   
being, let alone several such men, could do that to others... I'd be the first   
to try and kill the despot if he were still alive," he commented in what felt as   
unusual aggression to Mara's rudimentary senses.  
  
"Yeah... To think that we were disgusted by the purges and the false   
accusations," his companion sneered, pushing away the remnants of his breakfast.  
  
Whatever they were talking about, she decided, it wasn't an easy subject to   
handle. The droid chose that moment to come in with her food. She paid him   
immediately, then ate lightly while she kept her senses on the two men.  
  
What were they hinting at? she wondered. They obviously worked in an hospital,   
which meant that they saw injured people all the time. So, she asked herself,   
what could be bad enough to draw that kind of reactions from them? Children?   
Well, of course, she agreed with them, they shouldn't be touched by the fights,   
but still... something wasn't right.  
  
When she saw the men get ready to leave, she took her last bites of her   
breakfast, then discreetly followed them out. She had to know, she could feel   
it. Besides, something wasn't right, she argued with herself. Imperial troops   
had never attacked children, let alone put them into... camps?? What camps?,   
she frowned inwardly. Either they weren't dealing with imperial refugees...   
  
Or, she bravely conceded as a knot appeared in her stomach... She was still   
missing part of the truth about her old life. Whichever it was though, she   
resolved to figure out the truth and live with its consequences.  
  
  
  
  
  
Ten minutes later, she stood in the corridors of the main hospital of the city.   
The two doctors had disappeared behind the doors of a restricted area, but that   
wouldn't stop her for long, she decided.   
  
She discreetly studied what kind of staff was allowed past the doors, then   
entered the finally available lift. In the lift, she selected the employees'   
level, then blocked the access to the lift.  
  
Two minutes later, she reached her destination.   
  
Aware that she would be expulsed from the level if she were seen by someone, she   
carefully crept toward the closest changing room, then skulked inside once she   
was certain that it was empty. There, she hurried to change in a medical suit,   
then covered her hair with a medical hat. Next, she debated with herself   
whether she should assume the identity of a doctor or a nurse... then spied the   
presence of a cart full of diapers and clean clothes for children.  
  
She would be a mere attendant, she decided with a smirk.  
  
  
  
  
Back on her targeted level, she walked toward the restricted area--- and walked   
past the nodding guard without using any tricks. She entered the restricted   
area.  
  
That, she reflected, had to be one of the easiest infiltration she had ever   
done. Of course, she then conceded as she gazed around herself, she wasn't here   
to destroy nor hurt... only to discover the truth, she reflected more seriously.  
  
Slowly, as if careful to not hurt anyone with her cart, she walked past closed   
doors, then slightly baying ones which allowed her a short peek into a few   
rooms.  
  
In most of them, medical teams were fussing around the beds of their patients;   
when she reached out to check on one patient's status, she sadly understood that   
whoever had done this would have more victims to add to their results.  
  
How could they be certain that it was the Empire's doing? she wondered as she   
walked further down the corridors. For all they knew, the nearby aliens could   
be survivors from pirate attacks, or even slaves from the Hutts. She walked on,   
slowly taking in what was going on around her.   
  
Whoever was responsible for this, she finally admitted with dark resent, had   
sure made quite a number on those aliens and few humans. Even though she still   
didn't particularly care about aliens, training obliged, she found herself   
unable to dismiss their pain and anguish as she walked past them.  
  
Then, she reached a windowed room in which children were trying to play quietly.  
As she gazed at some of them, Mara froze in horror.   
  
Who could---  
  
Suddenly, a child's shirt moved and exposed his hip.  
  
The Imperial seal... not the symbol of the army, she numbly gaped,... but the   
crest of her former master... Exactly like the one Luke bore on his left arm,   
she finally recognized as new elements began to invade her thoughts.  
  
Children... children... the Emperor hadn't had any scruples, even for   
children..., she reflected dimly, then her mind swiftly emptied itself before   
she could go further in her reflection.  
  
She thus remained frozen for a long, long while, her gaze slowly, courageously   
travelling from one young survivor to another... Then she found herself fighting   
tears when she saw a little Kubaz girl search for a toy nearby.  
  
Suddenly reaching a decision, the young Jedi woman brought her cart into a   
storing room, then entered the children's play room.  
  
Eighteen pair of healthy or unhealty eyes turned toward her, sadly gazed at her,   
then returned to their toys and silent games. For a moment, Mara stood still,   
considering her impromptu action, then, upon seeing that the blind little Kubaz   
was still searching for the doll, walked closer and gave it to her.  
  
"Here she is," she told her softly, dimly aware that for the first time in her   
life, she was accepting a very close contact with a non-human without feeling   
disgusted. The alien girl of the previous night had spoken to her, but she   
hadn't touched her in any way. This time however, she herself had willingly   
touched the alien child.  
  
The Kubaz whistled something in answer, then lapsed into silence, hugging her   
doll. Surprising herself, the ex-imperial assassin brought her hand up and   
closer to the alien child until she could gently rub the side of her face in   
comfort.  
  
"I wish I could do more," she told her softly even as the wary child accepted   
her touch as a good thing.  
  
She leaned into it.  
  
"You will be safe now," Mara promised her, sending her reassurance to the child   
with the Force. "No one will ever hurt you again."  
  
"The bad men are dead?" a little boy, the one with the Emperor's seal, inquired   
from his spot near her.  
  
"Yes, they are," she answered him, scuttling closer to him. "Do you know who   
did this to you?" she asked him gently.  
  
"Bad men," was his short answer as he continued to play with a speeder model.  
  
"Do you remember what they looked like?" she asked him, careful to not frighten   
him.  
  
*They looked like white and black robots," a sluissi boy answered her, showing   
her a drawing that he had done.  
  
On it, the 'bad men' were caught in flames, as if burning in Hell, she   
understood.  
  
"Is this what happened?" she inquired with reluctant interest.  
  
The young boy shook his head in disagreement. "Other white robots came and   
killed them. They put us in a ship and took us here."  
  
"Luke's team," she muttered to herself.  
  
Somehow, her lover had known about those atrocities while she herself had been   
kept in the dark. Why?, she wondered.   
  
"Were you all together?" she asked them even as she walked closer to an Aqualish   
toddler who had fallen from his sitting position and couldn't get up by himself.  
  
Another shake of several small heads answered her. There had been adults with   
them, she then remembered as the memory of a dying Wookiee came back to her   
mind. Now she understood why the doctors had said what they had---  
  
The door suddenly open, allowing entrance to a true nurse.  
  
"What are you doing here?" the nurse asked, already on the defensive, "this is a   
restricted area. Only authorized staff can be here."  
  
"I... huh," Mara hesitated as she slowly stood to her full height to face the   
upset woman. "I'm investigating the horrors wrought by the Empire," she finally   
answered, dimly reflecting that she was surprising even herself with her chosen   
excuse.   
  
"You can't be here," the other answered even as she pulled a comlink from her   
hip pocket.  
  
"No, please?" Mara asked, taking a step closer to the woman. "I don't mean   
anybody any harm... I just wish to spend some time caring for those young   
victims... please?" she asked again, earnestly this time. "It's very important   
for me," she added even as she inwardly gaped at her comment.  
  
Important? To care for alien children?? But even as the doubts entered her   
mind, the Force's guidance reappeared, strong and clear to her trained mind.   
Yes, it was important for her to spend some time with those children.  
  
The older woman seemed to consider her offer, then shifted her gaze toward their   
young audience.  
  
"I give you one hour to leave or I call security and you will have to explain   
yourself with local Security," she warned her, then was gone.  
  
"Thank you," Mara told her before she turned her attention back on her young   
companions.  
  
Something was suddenly nagging at her, she reflected in growing unease, and it   
was attached to those children. She crouched back to their level and continued   
to talk with them while caring as she could with them.  
  
At first, she was the one who asked them questions, but the more time went by,   
and the more they were the ones who asked questions; she answered them.  
  
Thus, she ended up telling them the story of how the heroic Jedi Skywalker had   
saved them with the help of his father.  
  
The more she told them about her boyfriend's sacrifices and how he had dared   
faced the Emperor instead of keeping his evil alive... and the more she herself   
really, truly understood what had motivated the Skywalkers to go against   
everything they had stood up for to destroy the one man responsible for all of   
this.  
  
  
  
  
Luke and Vader had been right, she conceded as she left the hospital. It hadn't   
been easy, and they had both lost more than anybody else could ever imagine...   
but they had known, deep down, that it was the only way to end the nightmares of   
many more souls than she had ever thought possible.  
  
She hadn't been naive however, she scolded slightly while she slowly wandered   
down the crowded streets; she had known that the Empire hadn't been only good.   
After all, she reminded herself, she and Luke had killed people who hadn't   
always been 'that' guilty of what they had been accused of. However, she   
conceded, she could now understand why the Rebels had thought that their cause   
was just. Their means had been those of warriors, but the main goal had been   
morale... unlike the one man they had fought against.  
  
Conscription... purges... destruction of whole villages from orbit... All of a   
sudden, all the horrors of the past, not just her personal hell, came crashing   
on her already weakened shoulders, screaming at her what a fool she had been to   
not see those for what they were. Not only had she been a slave, and had killed   
for her slaver, but she had also helped to maintain what should have hit her as   
totally immoral and unacceptable, even for a child.  
  
Her eyesight suddenly became blurry and her steps faltered as her most   
destructive actions came back to her mind--- She couldn't collapse in public,   
she berated herself even as she hunted around herself for a safe heaven where   
she could hide her shock.  
  
She barely reached a small cafe before another thought suddenly assailed her, a   
thought that had been rising in her at the medcenter but had been reflexively   
contained by her mind in hopes to keep the truth hidden for a little while   
longer... but not more.  
  
What about her?? She had been a child too... had been---  
  
She reached the fresher just in time to keep her torment secret from anyone...  
  
She, like Luke and the children at the hospital, had been one of the Emperor's   
victims... what had he done to her?, she wondered in growing fear and agony.   
She was physically healthy compared to some of his other victims, but... Was her   
mind her own?.. How could she have not understood what was truly going on before   
now... unless he had done something to her?, she cringed in horror even as the   
horrifying truth slammed into her without hiding anything anymore...   
  
Something worse than physical torment had been done to her... Something even   
worse than her friend's several punishments---- That 'something' had turned her   
into a cold murderer, an efficient slave... and unlike her friend, the fiend had   
killed everything else in her----  
  
No!, she whimpered even as she slowly slid down the wall until she was sitting   
against the wall. No, she had always 'chosen' to please him, to kill bad beings   
and thus free the galaxy from them... She had never...  
  
Then the memory of a certain attack on a senator came back to her. She had   
truly killed innocents, beings who hadn't been even slightly guilty of any crime   
against Life itself.  
  
No, she cried again even as she buried her head in her hands. No... It was   
impossible... She had never felt him in her mind, didn't feel any difference now   
that she was free from his power----  
  
She stopped her train of thoughts at that even as she gaped at the far wall in   
horror at herself. No matter how hard she tried to defend herself, she had been   
as immoral as the Emperor had been... because he had turned her into an   
extension of his will, a cold executor... a lure for men--- especially for her   
friend, she understood even as almost all the puzzle set itself into place.  
  
The Emperor had never meant for them to be in love, she realized. He had only   
been interested in the potential of a closer link between them, then, when that   
time of their lives would have been over, he had meant to use her to keep a   
close eye on the Skywalker youth...  
  
She shuddered at the thought of the Emperor's cold touch on her mind--- then   
clasped her head in her hands in torment as memories of such contacts assailed   
her mercilessly.  
  
The monster had been in her mind, from the start which she couldn't even   
remember; he had changed her, until she had had no personality or will   
anymore... and now, she didn't know how to pull him out of there anymore.  
  
She would never heal and be who she could have been.  
  
"No," she moaned again even as felt unusual tears form in her eyes.   
  
It was just impossible... too horrible... But it had happened, and she wanted   
to die.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
In deep space, Luke looked up from his book and entered a few data in the   
computer of his tactical display. In front of him, red and blue dots tried out   
the strategy which he had just read about.  
  
The result weren't too bad, he conceded once the display and current main source   
of lighting in the room stopped blinking furiously. It wasn't exactly what he   
was looking for, but it was a good step in the direction of thinking up a new,   
unknown tactic.  
  
He wrote a few notes on his pad, then continued to read his chosen book: his   
father's memoirs about the Clone Wars. Against an enemy with a near limitless   
source of soldiers, and a totally unpredictable behavior from all its soldiers,   
the old warriors had had to use never-before-heard strategies to stop them.  
  
One of those had been to go to the source instead of trying to fight them all   
separately. This, he conceded, was something nobody had thought about in their   
actual battle. They had been so focused on stopping all the separate groups   
that they had not considered that option at all.  
  
However, he reflected, leaning his elbows on his desk to rest his chin against   
his hand, now that they knew that it was, in fact, a coordinated attack, taking   
the head off of the enemy would seriously impair the rest of the body. Of   
course, there was the possibility that another head would grow just as fast...   
unless they hit both the head and the appendages at the same time. The problem   
however, he sighed tiredly, was that he knew where they were going to hit, but   
until they did, he didn't know where they themselves were.  
  
So far, his security stations in several strategic locations in buildings had   
worked well, but they hadn't gotten them any closer to stopping the imperial   
terrorists----  
  
And then, as if stricken by a thought, he knew. 'He' himself had to infiltrate   
the main base and download all the data that he could get from them. No one but   
a Jedi would be able to survive this, he reflected even as straightened and   
entered new data in his display. With the source of explosives and weapons   
taken out and with the main commanding group neutralized, he surmised that it   
would be easier to hunt down the remaining troublemakers.  
  
'Dispatch spies...' a dim voice suddenly told him, startling him with its sudden   
appearance as well as its familiar yet unknown nature.  
  
"Leia?" he asked out loud, looking around himself with eagerness.  
  
Only darkness glanced back at him. Disappointed, he turned back toward his   
display.  
  
Well, okay, spies would also be a good idea, and, he reflected as he continued   
on his initial thought pattern, it would definitely help to capture the sixty-  
four remaining groups of terrorists.  
  
He entered the spy factor in his computer, checked the results, then sent a   
message to his officers to be ready for a meeting in two hours. There, they   
would decide how to take care of each remaining group once he himself would be   
done with his self-appointed mission.  
  
He turned on the main light and continued to read his father's journal. It was   
not exactly as if he were here with him... but, he thought sadly, it made his   
absence easier to bear.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Anakin didn't know how long he had been stranded on Dagobah, but he knew two   
things:  
  
Food variety was even worse here than it had been aboard the Executor... and he   
had run out of insults to throw at himself, leaving him with a sour taste of   
disgust at himself but it was now heavily dampened by his tiredness.  
  
Most of the time now, he just gazed absently at his surroundings, his mind   
devoid of thoughts to either insult himself... or encourage himself.  
  
He was consciously waiting for death now, but every time that he took a new   
breath, he knew that it was laughing in his face, refusing him that ever lasting   
peace.  
  
He sighed again, leaning even more heavily against the rocky wall of his chosen   
refuge. The ground was wet under him now, but he didn't care. Perhaps   
hypothermia would do what his breath refused to do, he thought dimly even as he   
reflected that taking off his mask would also settle the problem quite easily.  
  
However, his love for his son still refrained him from doing this to him.  
  
Two night ago, that same love had literally saved him from himself. It had been   
so tempting, so easy to just push a button on his chest plate and be done with   
life, but even as he had been pressing the said button, images of his son had   
kept assailing him until he had broken up in tears and curled up in shame.  
  
He had promised Luke, he reminded himself again as he spied the presence of his   
deactivated lightsaber which was on the cot that he used as a bed. Even if he   
would be gone within the flash of his blade, he simply couldn't betray him...  
  
Not again.  
  
Thus, he accepted every extra second of life as his due, his forced loneliness   
being the one torment he would have to bear for all his life. Given his actual   
status, he reflected glumly that it was even worse than when he had fallen in   
the lava pit.   
  
Then, at least, he had been able to fight against the torment with the Force,   
but here... aware of both the wrong things he had done as well as what he had   
lost because of those same things, not committing suicide was a challenge which   
he couldn't compare with fighting against the evil Palpatine; he would take on   
his former master any day compared to this.  
  
More lonely time passed...  
  
The glum day of Dagobah slowly crept toward the night... And dreams.  
  
  
'He was in a green field where long grass was flourishing.   
  
Why did it seem familiar?, he wondered--- then he recognized the setting. It   
was his and Padme's waterfall... He then saw both himself and her, sitting near   
the river, enjoying some time together when they had been younger. He sadly   
watched the scene of the past, heard himself tease his girlfriend, thus drawing   
one of her star-bright smiles from her.   
  
He then caught sight of his own, young, delighted features. Everything had been   
so easy back then, he thought to himself as he watched his memory play itself in   
front of him. He had loved Padme, they would have been together, the Jedi would   
have understood.  
  
End of story... or so he had thought, but instead... He had faced challenges...   
and had failed miserably, he admitted shamefully, lowering his eyes to block out   
the sight of one of the last times that he had been fully immersed in the Light.  
He would never be this happy ever again, he resigned himself even as his and   
Padme's laughter continued to ring in his ears.   
  
"And why not, Ani?" her voice inquired, coming from very close behind him.  
  
Startled, he whirled around--- and practically stumbled backward as he gazed at   
the angelic figure of his long-lost wife. Unlike his memory, she was older-  
looking and wore her hair down her back--- like Leia, he realized.  
  
An angel  
  
"Ami?" he finally gasped despite his dry throat.  
  
"Ani, my love," she told him, walking closer to him until she could almost touch   
him again, "only your lack of self-esteem can keep you from completely   
recovering from the Emperor's horrors."  
  
"But I did such horrible things," he defended shamefully, turning away from her.  
  
"And you fought against them when you fought against the Emperor," she told him   
even as she gently turned his face forward until he could see her again.  
  
Her touch sent a jolt of awareness in his dream-self. She had touched his   
face... not his mask, but his flesh.  
  
"Your soul is already healed, Anakin," she continued softly, "as is your heart   
for the others, but your true healing cannot start from anywhere but your self-  
esteem," she explained softly, then stepped closer until her hand was resting   
against--- his chest which wasn't covered by machinery anymore. "It has to   
start from here, from the heart of the good man that you are," she told him   
gently, gazing up at him--- then she leaned up and kissed him on the lips.   
  
Anakin was so shocked by the delicious touch of her lips against his owns that   
he didn't think about returning her kiss... until his thoughts finally caught up   
with him--- but by then, he was already waking up...'  
  
  
"Padme," he whispered in the night, reflexively bringing his left hand to his   
hidden chest plate under which his heart was beating softly.  
  
'Remember, my love... forgive yourself...' her voice drifted in his head, then   
was gone.  
  
Leaving him alone with his thoughts once again.  
  
Self-forgiveness... now there would be the challenge of all challenges he   
thought glumly even as he fought his tears of sorrow due to Padme's visit.  
His angel was still with him, still believed in him... Who was he to disappoint   
her?, he asked himself as he tried to dry his tears before his skin became too   
wet under his mask and that it resumed itching like crazy.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Five days after her emotional breakdown, Mara was still on Capara.  
  
She had spent the first day and a half in her room aboard her ship, fighting   
against the truth she had been willing yet unwilling to find about herself, then   
had spent the ensuing two days giving way to her anger, sorrow and tears or   
regret until she didn't have any left and could begin to build 'new' hopes.   
  
On the morning of her fifth day, she finally decided to offer her help at the   
hospital while she would continue to rebuild what the Emperor had destroyed in   
her.  
  
While she had come to accept that her hands were stained with so much blood,   
even if it had been shed unwillingly, that they would never be clean ever again,   
she had also begun to entertain a new hope: to someday feel that the assassin in   
her was dead and that her real self was free for real. Then, and only then, she   
knew that she would be able to return to Luke and be happy with him. In the   
meantime though, she also wanted to begin to make up for her past mistakes and   
she estimated that by working with the slightly abandoned children at the   
hospital, she would begin to do so, and, she added with a very shy, almost   
undetectable smile, she would also like the volunteer job. At least, she   
amended, she expected to since she had kept very good memories of the very short   
hour she had spent with the children the first time. Those, and her memories of   
Luke who was still waiting for her, had kept her from giving up completely   
during the very difficult two days that had followed her most unpleasant   
discovery.  
  
Gathering her courage, she slowly climbed the stairs that led into the   
medcenter.  
  
  
  
  
Naturally, her offer was turned down at first, but when the Kubaz girl came up   
with a guide in a corridor nearby, she recognized her voice and literally ran to   
her, hugging her leg in welcome.  
  
Once again pulled by a guidance in the Force, Mara whispered a welcome to the   
child, then bent down to be at her level and picked her up in her arms; the   
little girl settled herself in her embrace as if she were her mother.  
  
"As I said," she continued to the chief nurse, "I just want to be with them and   
help them. I know that the adults are taking up a lot of time from the whole   
team, but those children also need company," she finished earnestly.  
  
"Well that little one sure seems to have adopted you, Madam," the helper   
commented as he walked closer to her and the child.   
  
"We are not hiring anybody without a---" the older woman began seriously.  
  
"I don't want to be paid," Mara answered instantly. "I'm only doing this for   
the children... please?" she asked earnestly. "It's very, very important for   
me."  
  
"We sure could use some help," the man commented, drawing a shrewd glare from   
the head nurse before she refocused on Mara and the child.  
  
After she glanced at the little Kubaz girl who was also almost pleading with   
her, the head-nurse finally sighed in agreement.  
  
"All right, but if I hear any complaint, you're out," she warned her seriously.  
  
"I understand," Mara answered softly before she refocused on her new friend and   
her helper. "Where were you going now?" she asked the child softly.  
  
"To the diagnostic room," the man answered her. "We are still running tests on   
her to make sure that we aren't overlooking anything."  
  
Even as the male nurse explained to her what was the nature of the tests, Mara   
felt a slight warning in the Force that those tests were indeed necessary for   
the child's safety. She refocused on the scared child.  
  
"It will be all right, darling, you can trust them," she reassured her.  
  
The little girl shook her blinded head, hugging her closer.  
  
"Would you feel better if I went with you?" she asked her gently even as she   
checked with the nurse to see if she could.  
  
The child's answer granted her permission to go with them.  
  
And so began her new life, a life which she had never thought possible for   
her... yet she quickly became aware that it seemed to be part of who she was.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
While Mara tried to make up for her past mistakes by nurturing the children of   
her direct or indirect victims, Luke prepared for the most important mission of   
his life.  
  
Even more than when he had sabotaged the fleet, he knew that he couldn't fail   
against the terrorists. It was their last chance before the imperials could   
gather more sympathizers and return in strength.  
  
Thus, he planned even more diligently than ever, posted back ups in case he   
needed help, for he had learnt the hard way that he wasn't invincible, and he   
made sure that the rest of his fleet was ready to attack the moment that he sent   
the all clear signal to both the spies and the ships.  
  
Now that they had a very good idea as to where the others were hiding, all they   
had left to do was to hunt them down. Hopefully, he thought as he suited up for   
the most important night of his life, in two days, it would be over for good.  
  
  
  
TBC in part 7: Lessons  
  
  
SJ: Skyjade@globetrotter.net (any positive stuff is welcome, but negative or   
mean comments will be thrown down the Sarlacc's throat without being read.) 


	42. A Whole New Life 7: Lessons

A Whole New Life  
Part 7: Lessons  
By SJ 12-23-01/14-04-02 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
  
  
  
Using the darkness as cover, the young Jedi crouched low and ran closer to the   
surveillance perimeter of the main base of the organized imperial resistance.   
He suddenly dropped low a few seconds before a sweeping light reached his   
location, moved over him without detecting his presence, then he jumped back to   
his feet and continued his progress forward.  
  
He reached the external, electrified fence, turned himself invisible, then   
leaped and tumbled over the barrier.  
  
Five minutes later, he was deep inside the base, waiting for a corridor to clear   
up before he hacked his way in a computer room.   
  
So far so good, he hadn't had to deal with anyone yet. However, he thought as   
he allowed his invisibility shield to dissolve, he couldn't maintain that kind   
of focus forever; next time he would meet with someone, he would have to become   
an assassin once again... one last time, he heartened himself even as he pushed   
himself further in the shadows of his chosen nook.  
  
A few meters away from him, squads of troopers were guarding crates of what   
seemed to be weapons as they brought them to the storage area that was at the   
end of the corridor.  
  
That would be his next target, he reflected seriously, but first, he needed to   
download the location of the remaining groups. He figured that the computer of   
the armory would hold such data, perhaps not as a main bank, but the   
destinations of each crate would serve his purpose all the same.  
  
Finally, the transfer of new material was finished and he was alone once again.   
He hurried to reach the computer room, checked it once again to make sure that   
it was truly empty, then hacked his way inside and locked the door once again.  
  
In front of him, blinking computer banks were logged on and waiting for new   
data. Luke produced a stack of disks from his hip pocket, called up the first   
file, then programmed the disk reader to copy everything until his disc was   
full.  
  
He repeated the procedure with the following five discs and was beginning his   
sixth and last disk when his senses went off in warning.  
  
Someone was coming, and his loading was already under progress; the moment that   
they would set their eyes on the computer screen, he knew that his presence   
would be uncovered.  
  
He had no choice but to terminate them, he sighed even as he hid himself near   
the door and prepared his blaster.  
  
From his new position, he heard the others as they shuffled to a halt at the   
door, requested entrance while discussing the use they would have for their new   
bombs---- then they were inside and he didn't have time to think anymore.  
  
He gave them the time to clear the door and let it seal behind them, then acted.   
By that time, the others had naturally noticed the running program on the big   
screen, but it was already too late for them.  
  
Even as Luke incapacitated the blaster hand of the nearest imp with a powerful   
side kick on his wrist and knuckles, he shot a first man and dispatched a second   
one with the Force. He then hurried to shift his focus and silenced the   
remaining man before his screams could make it past his lungs, then pivoted on   
the ball of his left foot and sent him crashing into the nearby closet; he then   
closed the door and fused it with a blaster shot.  
  
When he refocused on his loading operation, the last disk was ready. He   
snatched it from the reader, took a second to secure the precious data in his   
hip pocket once again, then headed for the hangar bay.  
  
Now he had some 'planting' to do, he thought seriously, not feeling even tug of   
his usual smirk form on his lips.  
  
Tonight, he wasn't enjoying his mission; he was doing it because it was his duty   
to save the galaxy from his mistakes. And save it he would, he resolved as he   
continued to remain out of sight while progressing toward the ammunition hangar.  
  
  
  
  
Twenty minutes later, he was out of the base once again and back to his ship.  
  
Slowly turning toward the still very quiet sight of the main base of the   
imperial resistance, he pressed the red switch on his transmitter; a few   
kilometers behind him, the base suddenly went up in a fiery display of   
explosions, taking with it stocks of ammunitions as well as explosives and   
weapons.  
  
As he watched the blazing conflagration, he felt some of his tension leave him   
and understood that he and his teams would succeed.   
  
While this new insight satisfied him, he dimly reflected that it was still yet   
another waste of lives to add on his 'account' with Life itself. No matter if   
the men were good or bad, he wanted to argue with the Force which had pulled him   
toward this latest kill, there should have been another way to deal with them.  
  
Unfortunately, not even the books from the past had given him other suggestions.  
As if, he thought glumly as he climbed aboard his ship, some living being   
weren't sacred and weren't worth the warriors' efforts to spare their lives.  
  
Well, he decided while he flicked switches and brought his cloaked ship to life,   
he would prove them wrong. He hadn't had any other choice given the emergency   
of the actual situation, but when peace returned in the galaxy, he would devote   
his time to two things: the Senate and peaceful ways to settle conflicts.  
  
  
  
The battles against the remaining groups lasted another three days during which   
the doomed organizations tried to wreak as much havoc as they could, but in the   
end, thanks to almost every kind of resource available, namely troops, spies,   
local enforcers, double-crossers and even regular citizens in some places, the   
trouble-makers were finally neutralized... or killed... leaving behind a galaxy   
in dire needs of repairs and reassurance that the new leadership was fair and   
dedicated to them.  
  
  
  
To help the rebuilding efforts, Luke accessed the accounts of both the Emperor   
and Black Sun and used their credits to both pay for the repairs, and even more   
to improve the cities when the local authorities told him what they needed.  
  
Thus, demolished trade center were reborn in record time and were more beautiful   
than before, devastated crops were replaced, and the actual harvest,   
compensated; whole water sources were completely purified and re-initialized   
after reinforcing the security systems on them, and so on, and so on.  
  
Three months after the end of the terrorist attacks, and any new attempt stopped   
and completely neutralized before they even got close to attacking the citizens,   
peace had truly returned in the galaxy... but unrest was brewing again.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
As Luke watched the reports about the demonstrations that were now proceeding,   
he felt like burying his hands in his hair and whining about his fate. The   
citizens were not violent in any way, but they were threatening to petition for   
separation from the government if the Senate was not re-instituted within the   
next weeks.  
  
Luke was perfectly aware that he was nowhere near this delay to bringing back   
the senators to the Senate, mostly because he had yet to find trustworthy   
politicians, he conceded. Up to now, all his interviews and travels had   
convinced him of only one thing: he would never be able to leave those men and   
women to themselves for long before the past simply repeated itself.  
  
On the vid screen, a part of his triumphant announce to the galaxy was re-run,   
meanly reminding him and the rest of the galaxy that he had made a promise... a   
pledge to them.  
  
"This was almost six months ago," the newsperson continued to explain even as   
more images of demonstrations flashed on the big screen. "yet we are still   
waiting for President Skywalker to honor his word."  
  
President, he sneered at himself even as the image shifted to that of a   
volunteer senator. He was no president.  
  
"Several of us are ready to help him in this endeavor," the Mwonbati explained   
in his singing voice, "but so far, we have barely met him and haven't received   
any word from him. He will have to understand, sooner than later, that he can't   
rule a whole galaxy by himself and be fair," the politician explained as   
seriously and neutrally as he could.  
  
However, Luke felt the sting of his last comment as if the other had been   
rebuking him in private.   
  
The newsperson then asked questions to the citizens in the street.  
  
"He says he's not Emperor, but what guarantee do we have?" a young human woman   
commented openly.  
  
"Ships are still stationed above too many world to reassure us," another one,   
probably her friend, added earnestly.  
  
"Why wouldn't he re-instate the Senate unless he's hiding something?" a tall   
Sluissi commented in heavily accented basic.  
  
"With so much unrest in so many places," the newsperson continued seriously "we   
could once again be on the edge of civil war."  
  
Luke admitted that he wanted her to shut up, yet he couldn't not listen to what   
was being said about him and his galactic charge.   
  
"Senators are beginning to regroup their strengths for what could easily   
escalate into a face-off with our self-appointed savior from one Empire, but was   
it to create a new Empire... or to restore a Republic?" she asked as a   
conclusion.   
  
Luke suddenly shut down the screen, more out of torment than anything else.   
  
"Perhaps I should stop worrying so much about them," he muttered to himself as   
he hung his head in shame.  
  
"Would it be wise, Sir?" his confidant, Piett, asked him from his position   
behind him.  
  
The moment that he had received news about the currently airing report, Piett   
had forwarded the information to him even as he had hurried to reach his   
quarters. Somehow, Luke thought dimly, the other man had known that he would   
want to discuss this with him. He slowly turned toward him, his face a study of   
misery.  
  
"It wouldn't be my first unwise decision if it weren't, would it be?," he   
commented in defeat. "I'm just a man, and a relatively inexperienced one at   
that----"  
  
"And that is why the Senate has to be re-instated, Sir," the man courageously   
interrupted him.  
  
"Oh, there's no question about that," the youth answered him seriously, "but   
with whom?" he then asked, spreading his hands apart to express his indecision.   
"Regular citizens who would change all the time? Or just a group of politicians   
who would resume the dance of lies which led the old Republic to its decay?.."   
he offered seriously.  
  
"But if you kept an eye on the Senate, Sir, you would not let this happen   
again."  
  
"I'm not a politician, Piett," Luke shook his head even as he slumped in a   
nearby couch. "That's why I want to do it right before I withdraw from all   
this."  
  
"Withdraw, Sir?" his admiral inquired, an eyebrow escaping his rigid self-  
control to lift above the other in confusion.  
  
The young Jedi only nodded slightly.  
  
"Yes, withdraw from the ruling system and just be a Jedi to atone for the   
past... I was truthful when I said that I didn't want power," he told him   
seriously, "but somewhere between then and now... I obviously went horribly   
wrong... The citizens can't see this and are even threatening a peace we've   
brought back with many more sacrifices than they will ever know."  
  
Piett remained silent, thoughtful he noticed.  
  
"Where did we go wrong?" he asked him sadly.   
  
"I... Permission to speak freely, Sir?" his admiral inquired earnestly.  
  
Luke couldn't help but smile slightly at that.  
  
"After all the conversations we've had for the past months, you don't even have   
to ask, Piett, and I promise not to be angry," he reassured him.  
  
The other took a deep breath at that, then began: "You tried to do too much on   
your own when you admit yourself that you don't know much about the Senate," he   
told him bluntly. "When the riots began, you rallied your resources and   
established a battle plan with all your officers even though you are an   
accomplished fighter; no one can discuss this, Sir."  
  
"But?" Luke prompted him.  
  
"But when it comes to the Senate, you isolate yourself when you should be   
seeking even more resources than you did with us. You are acting, if you pardon   
my expression, like a selfish child who wants to share, but won't let anyone   
play with his toy."  
  
While Luke couldn't help but smile sadly at the image of himself as a kid, he   
recognized the wisdom behind Piett's words. He had indeed been selfish about   
the Senate when he should have sought allies in this area too. Perhaps even   
more than during the siege, he conceded seriously.  
  
"It's true," he finally agreed with his slowly worrying admiral. He noticed how   
the other let out a breath of relief. "I had never realized it, but that's   
exactly how I was behaving... Do you think that I could trust the senators who   
talked in the interview?" he asked the other seriously.  
  
"I'm not a politician either, Sir," his confidant shook his head, "I wouldn't   
know who to trust or not, but you, I believe, have the ability to feel when   
someone can be trusted or not, or perhaps as much as possible," he added when he   
noticed his slight pout of discouragement.  
  
"Yes," he reluctantly agreed, "I can read minds, but I don't want to do it   
again. It is not a good use of my abilities."  
  
He didn't add that it was also too close to the Dark Side.  
  
"And isn't there a... huh, middle option available, Sir?" the older man inquired   
uncertainly. "Between not reading them at all and invading their minds, can't   
you simply feel if you can trust someone or not?"  
  
Luke smiled a little more as his companion obviously grew more comfortable with   
him to truly speak his mind and share his ideas.   
  
"You mean like how I knew that I could trust you, Piett?" he asked with a raised   
eyebrow.  
  
"Huh," the other hesitated slightly, "I guess so, Sir."  
  
Luke sighed in wariness. "Yes, I can do this, but I don't know if I can trust   
this judgment with politicians. They are devious."  
  
"Not all of them, Sir," Piett slightly shook his head. "Most of them are simply   
experts with working with the public, something which, if you pardon my saying   
so, is eluding you a little."  
  
"Oh more than a little," he agreed with him, slightly smirking in amusement at   
Piett's growing boldness yet remaining doubt. "I was never trained to rule with   
leadership but with strength and fear..." He locked his eyes with his   
companion's, "I don't want to call on either of those skills ever again," he   
told him earnestly.  
  
"Then, Sir, there's no choice left. You need to contact the gathering senators   
and ask for their help."  
  
"And stay with them," he completed when he understood where Piett was going.   
  
"It will be better for all of us," the older man nodded seriously. "As you   
said, you are not a politician; they won't buy you out," the other man smiled   
slightly in reassurance.  
  
"I guess so," he sighed again, then stood up to face his admiral. "Thank you   
for working up your courage today, Piett. I needed your input."  
  
"I, huh... I did what was needed, Sir," the other stammered uncertainly.   
  
Luke walked closer until he could rest his hand on the nervous man's shoulder.   
It was a brief, but reassuring contact; the other's tension disappeared.  
  
"If you ever feel like I am missing out something else, please tell me. You   
have my trust."  
  
"Sir?" the officer gaped at him.  
  
"Your advice is always sound, Admiral, and," he continued more solemnly, "it   
reminds me of my Father's."  
  
While he expected the other to be even more shocked by this, he never expected   
him to gentle toward him. To his own surprise, his admiral gazed at him with   
what looked like care in his eyes, then he returned the touch on his shoulder.  
  
"You are a good man, Jedi Skywalker," he told him warmly, then he saluted him   
respectfully. "Permission to leave, Sir?"  
  
"Granted," he answered, his own throat constricted by his own shock.  
  
He barely noticed when the other left his chambers  
  
Jedi...  
  
No one had ever acknowledged him as a Jedi before...  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
On Capara, Mara finished to tuck in one of her little charges.  
  
The Calamari child, who didn't have any sense of touch, almost always panicked   
when they put him in bed; to him, it was as if he were floating in emptiness.   
That night, like every other night, Mara calmed him down. She was the only one   
who could reassure him and 'touch' him through the Force.  
  
"You need to sleep, Chandor," she told him gently, caressing his insensitive   
forehead while sending a similar touch in his mind. "We will play again   
tomorrow morning," she smiled at him.  
  
"Stay, Mara," he begged with her in heavily accented basic.  
  
"Please?" his neighbor asked, prompting herself on her elbow.  
  
"I can't," she shook her head at her little fan club. "I will be reprimanded if   
I don't let you sleep. Tomorrow, okay?" she offered while tucking the omwati   
teenager back in bed.  
  
"Only if you shake on it," she told her seriously.  
  
Mara shook her head even as she extended her hand for a shake.   
  
"I give you my word I will be here at 0800 tomorrow morning," she told her   
seriously.  
  
"I'll hold you to that word," the child teased her.  
  
"Continue like this and you'll make one hell of a trader, Siwwui," she teased   
her back while she slowly stepped away from the two beds. "Now, have a good   
night of sleep, both of you."  
  
"You too," Chandor wished her back, then turned on his side and closed his   
visible eye.  
  
She herself exited the small room and closed the door behind her.  
  
"They're getting tougher every day, aren't they?" Charl, her human helper smiled   
at her in the corridor.  
  
"At least you're here with me or else I would never get them to sleep before at   
least 2200," she smiled back.  
  
"Were I in their places, Mara, I would be as jealous of my time with you as they   
are," he commented while they both headed toward the nurse station to complete   
their daily reports. "What you do with them is amazing," he added with respect.   
"It's almost as if you take their trauma away from them."  
  
"I wish I could," she sighed, her good mood giving place to her regret at that.   
"Anyway, helping them is the least I can do after what I did."  
  
Her companion threw her a curious gaze at that, but a shake of her head told him   
to drop it. Again.  
  
Charl was almost her age, a healthy, black-haired and brown-eyed youth with a   
very good sense of humor and a passion for his new profession. When it had   
become obvious to the nurses that her presence was helping the children to   
recover from their traumas and even speeded up their time in re-adaptation, they   
had assigned a true nurse with her so that they would be able to intervene   
rapidly in case of trouble while keeping the children with her instead of taking   
them back to their rooms during the day.  
  
So far, the results were very encouraging. After only four months of this new   
program, for which she still refused any form of payment, no less than five   
young children and three teenagers had been able to return either to their own   
families or in the outside galaxy in the care of craftily selected families.  
  
She yawned as she accepted the pad that Charl gave her, then she loaded her   
report disc and began to type.   
  
They both typed in silence, as they always did--- when the young man's presence   
began to come off as nervous through her senses. She looked up at him; she   
caught his eyes just as they darted back down on his pad. Even though she   
didn't have much experience with flirting, she instantly recognized the signs   
that the young man was attracted to her--- like Luke had been at the beginning,   
she wistfully remembered.  
  
For a moment, she stopped working on her pad and thought seriously. She hadn't   
seen Luke for almost six months now and hadn't talked to him for five of those   
months.  
  
She knew that it wasn't what could be considered as an exactly close   
relationship, but still, she admitted to herself, she still thought about him   
every day... and she knew that she loved him even more than before he had risked   
everything to save them all from the Emperor. In fact, she thought with a   
wistful smile, the more she told his stories to the children, and the more she   
was falling back in love with him, but a love even truer than before because it   
was now her choice, without the pressure of his presence and their bond.  
  
"Mara?" her companion inquired softly.  
  
She turned her head sideways to meet his eyes.   
  
"I... I'm off right after the reports tonight, so... I was wondering," the youth   
asked hesitantly, "If you don't have anything planned, perhaps we could, huh, go   
out to a dancing club?"  
  
For a long moment, Mara merely gazed at the youth, unable to decide what she   
would answer him. Sure, she conceded, Charl was very nice and he had his share   
of good-looks. She also knew him well enough to know that it would be serious   
for him.  
  
However, she reflected more dreamily, she couldn't forget Luke, couldn't get   
over his compassion, the touch of his soul mingling with hers until they were   
like one, and his amazing devotion to what he knew was right...  
  
"I'm sorry, Charl," she finally answered out loud. "I guess I should have told   
you before, but... I'm engaged," she explained, surprising herself with the   
choice of her own words.  
  
Engaged? Well, true, she could share a bond even stronger than marriage with   
the Jedi, and she 'had' been his consort, but... was she still this close to   
him? Even after all those months of absence?  
  
"Engaged?" the youth asked her in surprise. "How--- I mean, how long have you   
been with someone? Who is it?"  
  
"My boyfriend is away because of the pacifying operations at the moment, but   
soon, I will be able to join him," she answered him honestly, again surprising   
herself with her words.  
  
Where was she taking this from?, she wondered inwardly. While she thought about   
Luke, she didn't consider returning to him anytime soon, especially now that she   
had developed a true friendship with the children here... She couldn't abandon   
them just yet... Could she?, she pondered seriously.  
  
  
  
Half-an-hour later, she entered her ship and dropped her duffel back, then   
stretched her shoulders.  
  
What a day it had been. First, the arrival of absolutely identical Wookiee   
twins, then the panic around a twi-lek girl, then the rest of the day spent   
playing or talking with the other children. And finally, that invitation from   
Charl which had brought home how much she truly missed Luke...  
  
For the past months, she had spent a few hours every evening considering her   
love for her friend and what her decision should be. Up to now, she had never   
doubted that devoting all her time and days to the children who were coming in   
every day at the refugee hospital was her new life. Today however, her choice   
wasn't so clear cut anymore...  
  
She went in her quarters and sat on her bunk.  
  
Luke hadn't tried to contact her even once since their last, angry words, she   
reflected seriously. Did he hold a grudge against her? or was he simply giving   
her her space like he had first told her when they had parted on Coruscant?, she   
wondered.  
  
One thing she knew however was that 'she' wasn't angry at him anymore for what   
he and his father had done. She understood why the Emperor had had to die and   
why she herself had had to face this challenge.  
  
Without the Skywalkers, she would have never been freed from her slavery and   
would have never been her true self. The more she worked with the children, and   
the more she was beginning to understand that she wasn't a bad person. She   
cared too much about her young charges to be evil, and unlike her assassin   
skills which had been drilled into her, loving and caring for others came to her   
naturally.   
  
Had it been like this for Luke?, she wondered dimly. Was it how he had 'woken   
up' from the nightmare, but unlike her, had had to keep up his evil appearances?  
Her eyes strayed slightly to the side and she caught sight of Luke's pendant;   
she called it to her hand and studied it.  
  
He had given her this because of his love for her, she thought wistfully. He   
had always been a nice guy, she smiled dreamily as she closed her eyes and went   
back in time.  
  
From the moment that she had met him in the Grand Corridor, she had known that   
he would never be a bad person. He hadn't been resentful like most slaves had   
been back then, and he had talked to her with genuine interest. He had been the   
first one to ever consider her worthwhile, and their friendship had grown on   
that basis.  
  
Then, she smiled wistfully, friendship had become infatuation, then love... true   
love. She and Luke hadn't been together for appearances only, she reminded   
herself, and while she now believed that the Emperor had meant to break them up   
when Luke had become Dark Lord, she also knew that nothing would have stood   
between them for long. She and Luke had both felt drawn toward the other and had   
never been happy unless they were together... and at this very moment, she   
admitted that she felt very sad.  
  
She missed him.  
  
Perhaps she should contact him, she reflected seriously while she turned the   
small pendant with her fingers. However, she didn't know where he was exactly,   
and she suspected that the sight of her wouldn't help him just like his sight   
would only twist her arm to return to him...  
  
What should she do?, she wondered sadly--- and gaped when she noticed that the   
pendant, which had been sealed up-to-now, had opened in two during her   
manipulations. Inside the pendant was a small, custom-made data disk.  
  
She instantly pulled it free from its berth, then headed for her cockpit where a   
special data reader was installed. She loaded the disk and sat in the closest   
seat. She expected text, but instead, she got an holo of... Luke's mother, she   
understood when the woman began to talk to her husband.  
  
She listened to her as she explained her death, then gaped in surprise when she   
mentioned the Jedi lock.  
  
A Light Jedi? her? Not after what she had done... As if to answer her   
question, the holo made her realize that she was not doomed to the dark side   
forever. That started her thinking again and she reflected that if Vader and   
Luke could do it, then she too could.  
  
Meanwhile, the holo went on... and revealed to her the circumstances surrounding   
queen Amidala's death... The Emperor had been an even worse monster than she   
had ever thought him to be, she snarled in disgust while she listened to the sad   
tale. However, the young woman of the holo warned her to beware that kind of   
feeling and to fight the darkness with her love...  
  
For Luke and the galaxy, she understood even as she belatedly understood that   
the pendant had opened while she had been thinking about her lost boyfriend.   
She could do it, she thought seriously as the rest of the message went on, more   
meant for Anakin than darksiders in general.   
  
Then it was over and she was once again alone with her thoughts. She sat back   
in the piloting chair and pulled her legs up on the seat, then against her   
chest.  
  
She could really win her private freedom, she thought seriously, could get over   
what the fiend had done to her and what he had made her do. Then, she sighed   
hopefully, perhaps she'd be able to return with Luke, but was she entertaining   
fickle thoughts about the two of them? Or was she truthful with herself and she   
could save this hope for a near future?  
  
She dimly reflected that the best way to know would be to contact Luke, but...  
Was she ready to see him again, even from a distance? she asked herself. She   
loved him so much that she now feared that she would lose her true self to   
him... just like what the Emperor had done with her devotion to him, she had   
come to understand.  
  
The children were a good reason for staying on Capara, she conceded with   
herself, but first and foremost, she simply didn't want to repeat the past, even   
for her lover.  
  
She spent the best part of that night debating with herself until it was too   
early to go to bed and she prepared for another day at the hospital.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
On Dagobah, time slowly went by for the ex-dark lord, but unlike what he had   
expected to feel during his meditations, he didn't really mind its speed   
anymore.  
  
Instead, he took every second that he was allotted to make peace with himself.  
Thus, he slowly went over his whole life, starting from when he had left his   
mother alone to the slavers of Mos Espa, and on till adulthood.  
  
He had reached his mid-twenties now... when his chasing the Jedis had been at   
its paroxysm.  
  
Today, he had focused on two very particular Jedi Knights and relatively close   
friends... whom he had murdered even more savagely than he had anybody else.  
He knew now that his anger at them had been in fact his dark self working   
double-time to keep him from resurfacing at the most inopportune of moments   
because even on that horrible day, he, Anakin, had been trying to survive his   
horrible nightmare.  
  
In the end, he had lost, but only for a while since he was now back and the   
Jedi's true murderer was dead and eradicated. He had made their sacrifice   
worthwhile now, he reassured himself.  
  
Sighing in both tiredness and growing peace with himself, he exited his   
meditation, then stretched and stood to his feet.  
  
The light outside had grown dimmer than when he had begun his meditation; night   
would soon fall. He gathered his empty water skins, stuffed his lightsaber in   
one of the large pockets of his mechanic suit, then left his main camp to   
replenish his stock of water and perhaps find himself some dinner... his second   
meal of the day.  
  
On the way to the nearby source of water, he allowed his mind to wander away   
from himself and focus on his son.  
  
During a trance a few days ago, he had seen him facing a group of angry people   
and he had had the distinct sensation that his son was not ready for them.  
Was he all right?, he wondered reflexively. Was he able to keep the galaxy at   
peace? Or had he met with trouble that they had never foreseen and he was in   
dire need of help?  
  
His help...  
  
When he tried to reach him though, distance continued to block them off.  
Sighing in acceptance, he withdrew from the Force and trudged on.  
  
He now understood that the Force had made him crash on this far away, lonely   
planet; it was its will, and unlike what he had first thought, much good would   
come out of this, not only on the aspect of revenge of the galaxy, but on the   
personal one as well. When he would be ready, he would be able to contact his   
son and be rescued, but until then, he had to take advantage of his solace to   
prepare himself for his new life.  
  
He couldn't continue to live in the past. His warning senses suddenly tingled,   
informing him that a predator had selected him as an edible target. Without   
slowing his pace, Ani reached out and sent a warning wave in the Force and   
straight into the snake's mind.  
  
It gave up on him, dismissing him as a too dangerous prey.  
  
  
  
A few minutes later, he reached his destination.  
  
He knelt down on the humid ground and dipped his skeins in the river, then, once   
he was done, decided to clean himself a little while he was at it. He had   
postponed it long enough since a few days ago. Furthermore, he was slightly   
worried to have walked into something unhealty; his skin was itching quite   
frequently today.  
  
He first removed his over-clothes until he was standing in what remained of his   
body tight armor, then stepped into the waters.  
  
It was cold, so he hurried to freshen himself, then stepped out of the lake.  
Once he was dressed again, he knelt back near the water and slowly removed his   
helmet.  
  
He would have a minute at the most to wash his face, he thought mechanically,   
but given how much he had itched lately, he conceded that he had no choice this   
time. If whatever it was had spread to even his covered skin, it was a good   
time to wash it away.  
  
He set his hands on the clasps of his sealed mask, released them, then he took a   
deep breath and removed his mask; he hurried to set it aside even as he leaned   
above the water to cup water in his hands---  
  
He stopped in shock at his reflection.  
  
His left cheek, which had born an ugly scar up to now--- was suddenly almost   
like new. The scar was still there, of course, but it was so faint that it   
would never be considered as ugly anymore.   
  
He gaped at his image for a long, long while... until he tried to breathe and   
remembered that he couldn't do so without his mask. He reluctantly brought it   
back over his features, but when he moved to seal it back in place, he changed   
his mind.  
  
Instead, he took a moment to catch his breath, then took another deep breath and   
removed it again.   
  
He had seen right, he thought in disbelief.  
  
He had somehow begun to heal.  
  
On impulse, he brought his right hand to his head--- and gaped even more when he   
felt that his disgusting ridge of scars had also begun to recede in size.  
  
He was healing himself!... What neither he nor Luke had ever managed even   
together... He was somehow doing it by himself now. Elated, he repeated the   
procedure with his mask, then after pinching himself to make sure that he wasn't   
dreaming, hurriedly scrubbed his face with the cold water, dried it, then   
reluctantly placed his mask back in place.  
  
He still needed it to live, but, he reflected with a new hope, he might soon   
ditch it forever. While he prepared to return to his camp, he promised himself   
to plow ahead in his meditation and cover his whole life until he had completely   
forgiven himself.  
  
Padme had been right.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
TBC in part 8: Future  
  
  
SJ: Skyjade@globetrotter.net (any positive stuff is welcome, but negative or   
mean comments will be thrown down the Sarlacc's throat without being read.) 


	43. A Whole New Life 8: Future

A Whole New Life  
Part 8: Future  
By SJ 12-23-01/14-04-02 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
  
WARNING: A young victim of the Emperor's camps die in this part; you are warned   
about the emotional impact of this moment.  
  
  
__________________  
  
  
  
  
  
Two weeks and a half after the worrying reports about whether Luke was a new   
Emperor or not, the young Jedi returned to Coruscant with mixed hopes. He had   
met with the regrouping politicians, had told them what he was searching for and   
how they could help him.  
  
They had told him that he could trust them, something which he still wasn't   
convinced of.  
  
However, he reflected wearily while he removed his jacket and dropped it on the   
couch of his quarters in his father's castle, he had no choice but to move on   
now. When he had sought out the would-be senators, he had been acutely aware   
that any step back would be interpreted as an attempt to hide something. Hence,   
he had no choice but to move forward and do his best to prevent a complete   
failure.  
  
If only, he sighed, rubbing his temples, Leia were here to help him with this.  
She had been a trained politician; she would know how to handle that kind of   
pressure. Personally, he couldn't help but feel like they were already pulling   
his strings even though he didn't want to give them that kind of power... yet.  
  
He sat down in one of the comforting chairs, then laid his head backward on the   
headrest and closed his eyes. Instead of trying to corrupt his sister, he   
berated himself, he should have accepted her lessons about politics; that would   
be most useful right about now. Oh, he conceded, he had tried to read books and   
teach himself a little more than what he already knew, but when he had met with   
the senators, everything he had read had been no more than theories, and, to top   
it all, his senses had kept telling him that he would never be able to trust   
those individuals alone with the whole future of the galaxy.  
  
While they were interested in changing things, they were unfortunately   
corruptible, well, he amended sternly, most of them. During his numerous   
meetings and renewed interviews, he had felt the presence of a few future worthy   
leaders amongst the throng of politicians. Still, he sighed, raising his head   
to get up, he didn't have anything satisfying to start with, yet had no choice   
but to get started---  
  
His thoughts came to a sudden halt when he noticed the presence of someone in   
front of him.  
  
"Leia!!!!" he exclaimed, instantly jumping to his feet and almost hugging her   
before he remembered that she wasn't real anymore. "Where have you been?" he   
asked her, near-despair mingling with deep relief.  
  
"It's good to see you too, Luke," she smiled softly at him, "or I should say   
talk to you since I've been with you all that time," she amended warmly.  
  
"You were?" he gaped at her in surprise, "Then why didn't you contact me   
before?" he asked instantly, feeling a sad, unwilling remorse build up in his   
heart.  
  
Leia had been with him but had left him alone for all that time?... Why? Was   
it some kind of test to prove himself?, he wondered in slight resent. Or was it   
some form of revenge for what he had done to her before?..  
  
"Neither of those, dear brother," she answered his unvoiced questions. "Had I   
been able to help you earlier, nothing would have stopped me from coming back to   
you," she reassured him warmly.  
  
"Then what happened?" he asked out loud, regret giving way to worry.  
  
"The fight against Palpatine took a lot of my powers. Up until now, I didn't   
have enough energies to appear to you," she explained warmly, "or else I would   
have done so but one last time... I didn't want to abandon you and Father this   
fast," she finished gently.  
  
Luke nodded in understanding even as he berated himself for a selfish kid.   
He should have known that his sister's abandon meant something like this, he   
scolded himself. She wasn't selfish like he himself was, and unlike Mara, she   
didn't hold a grudge against him...  
  
Mara..., his thoughts suddenly came to a halt.   
  
He had tried hard to not think too much about her and add to his misery, but he   
hoped that she was still all right; he hadn't felt any dark undercurrents for a   
long while now, so he surmised that she had found a way to also return to the   
Light... in a way, yet a doubt remained, he admitted to himself.  
  
"Mara is fine," his sister reassured him.   
  
"Where is she?" Luke asked reflexively, flinging his attempts to protect his   
heart to the four winds as he sought to get more information out of his sister.   
"Do you know what she's been doing? And Father?" he inquired in one, eager   
breath.  
  
"They're both fine and working out issues," she reassured him once again.   
"However, I'm afraid I can't tell you more than that," she sadly shook her head.   
  
Luke meant to ask her why but she answered before he had voiced his question.  
  
"Just like you have faced your true self during the past months, so have they,"   
she explained wistfully. "Eventually, you will see them again, but it has to be   
on their own terms, not yours," she pointed out seriously.  
  
"But I miss them," he whined earnestly.  
  
"I know," his sister answered, stepping closer until her ethereal hand could   
touch his cheek. "and so do they, you," she added gently, "but the time to see   
them again is not at hand yet."  
  
"Then what is coming closer?" he inquired, lifting an eyebrow in confusion.  
  
"The Senate," was Leia's short answer.  
  
A silence ensued this statement.  
  
Again, Luke thought wearily. "It's not serious," he finally whined plaintively.   
"I can't be responsible of its return, there must be a mistake in your plans."  
  
"You are the Lightbringer, brother," she answered seriously, firmly, "You know   
what the night was like, what brought it to be... Only you can ensure   
everlasting daylight."  
  
"But I'm not a politician," he complained again, this time at the one person he   
felt would understand him. "I don't know who I can trust and who I have to bar   
from the ruling system, I can't..."  
  
He fell silent when Leia's penetrating gaze fastened itself on his own.  
  
"You already know who you can trust and who you have to distrust, Luke," she   
commented seriously. "However, you don't accept that responsibility as being   
yours; you are still trying to think of a way to escape your destiny."  
  
Luke was shocked by the truth of her words. Even more than Piett, she knew   
exactly what was in his heart and mind. He didn't want to be involved with the   
complicated galactic Senate, he admitted truthfully.  
  
"There is no escape, Luke," Leia told him gently this time. "Whether you see it   
now or not, it is your destiny, how you will continue what you and Father   
began."  
  
"How?" he asked her in defeat. "I am a mere man..."  
  
"But you are an exceptional one, and," she added with compassion, "you will not   
always be alone on the Jedi path... nor without descendants who will pick up in   
your traces," she finished softly, wisely.  
  
When Luke finally gathered enough wits to gaze up at her in surprise, she was   
already gone, leaving him with more questions... and a total confusion about the   
future.  
  
More Jedi Knights? Children? What had she meant?  
  
And how was he going to get started if he were meant to be in the Senate for a   
while?.., he wondered in reluctant acceptance.  
  
No more answer came forth that night.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
The moment that Plee, the little Kubaz, blinded girl, began to worsen in health,   
a team of specialist worked to stabilize her status, but it was already too   
late.  
  
By the time Mara arrived at the hospital that day, aides, medics and nurses of   
different types were already busy all around the girl's bed, plugging her on IV   
to feed her body while trying to contain the infection. Although she wasn't   
supposed to interfere with true medical work, Mara couldn't stand outside this   
time.  
  
She stepped in the room and reached the girl's side. The moment she laid her   
eyes on her, she saw what was wrong with her, but before she could try anything,   
the chief medic noticed her presence and told her to leave.  
  
"Not this time, Chief," she answered seriously, resting her hand on the girl's   
hidden leg.  
  
"Miss Jade, if you don't want a report on your refusal to cooperate, leave now,"   
the medic repeated, totally abandoning his patient to rebuke her.  
  
"I said no," she repeated in kind, locking her gaze on the tired features of her   
almost adopted daughter.  
  
*Mara?" the weakened child suddenly called, interrupting the medic's next   
tirade.  
  
*I'm here, Plee," she reassured her in basic Kubaz.   
  
*What's going on? I'm... afraid...".  
  
*Don't worry, we'll take good care of you," she promised the blinded child, then   
switched her focus on her Force senses.  
  
The moment that she projected herself in the young patient, she found herself   
assailed by the horrifying vision of virulent cancer-like cells which were   
taking over Plee's good cells. Mara unfortunately 'knew' now that the medics'   
science couldn't do anything against it.  
  
No, she resolved with her resurfacing strength; she wouldn't lose another child   
to the Emperor's malevolence! Without thinking, Mara threw her senses against   
the invading cells and worked on crushing them or pushing them back---- but they   
were too numerous to fight them all off.  
  
*No!!!!!!!* she mentally cried in despair even as she redoubled her efforts to   
save one more life which the Empire was so intent on destroying---  
  
She failed...  
  
Even as she witnessed the cold victory of the artificial sickness, she froze as   
another mind contacted hers.  
  
*You tried, Mara... Thank you, I forgive you.*  
  
Her eyes snapped open at this and immediately sought the features of her first   
charge.  
  
"Plee!!!!!" she cried in defeat when she saw her take her last breath--- then   
she was gone----- and dissolved as if she had never been.  
  
Everybody who was standing near the bed took a step back in shock... except   
Mara. Her grief was such that she never really noticed that anything abnormal   
had just happened.  
  
Plee was dead... She hadn't been able to save her, and unlike the first times   
she had lost a 'child', she had really, really wanted to save that one.  
  
Slowly, completely unaware of the chaos that now filled the small two-bed room,   
she walked toward the open door, then down corridors until she found a private   
corner and cried in true grief.  
  
More than any other child in her care, Plee had become like her own child. The   
little girl hadn't opened to anyone before her, always isolating herself from   
the others... until she had met her and begun to work with her group. According   
to the head nurse, she had literally saved her life that day... only to fail   
today.  
  
Life wasn't fair, she silently moaned, then continued to cry. For the first   
time in her life, she considered it more than normal.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
On Dagobah, Anakin totally focused on his exercises of self-forgiveness.   
  
After seeing the results of his first attempts, he regularly checked himself for   
more encouraging results, but curiously enough, they didn't seem to progress   
much now that he knew what he was doing.  
  
At first disappointed by this, he lapsed shortly into another self-deprecating   
phase, but he didn't let it last for long. Instead, he spurred himself into   
action once again and resumed his meditation.  
  
The trick, he slowly understood, was to not worry about the results; he had to   
focus only on his memories and how he had to forgive himself for those.  
  
The more time passed, the less he ate or slept, using rejuvenation trances to   
refresh himself and survive with only one meal a day.  
  
Slowly, he even forgot that he had come here looking for someone.  
  
  
  
  
He eventually reached his memories of his first months with his son; he exited   
his trance, unable to face those memories like he had done with even the   
betrayal of the Jedi order.  
  
He had hurt his son, he scorned at himself, had crushed his defiant streak until   
he had been a ghost of who he was meant to be...  
  
Luke should, by any rights, despise him, he decided coldly, or at least not care   
about him, but he knew that it wasn't the case. His son had long forgiven him   
for everything, had even told him that it had been necessary at the time.  
  
He himself wished that he could go back in time, as his true self, and save him   
the torment that he had caused him. His son was a grown man now, and he was   
sane and loving, but what would have happened if he hadn't hurt him when he had   
been a child?  
  
How better would Luke be today?, he wondered seriously. Without any bad   
memories to hurt him even unconsciously? He closed his eyes in sorrow, then   
allowed his senses to pull him in a vision.  
  
  
  
'He had found his son and had put an end to his slavery the moment that he had   
ascertained his identity. The child had reacted coldly to this discovery,   
unsure as to how to treat him. He had chosen the distant study; he himself had   
been careful to not scare him anymore than he already was.  
  
They were now entering the throne room for Luke's introduction to the Emperor.   
Vader was nervous; he knew that he had to consider his young son as a prisoner   
since he couldn't really trust him, yet he himself couldn't punish him as he   
would a true prisoner.  
  
He was his son.  
  
He finally knelt in front of his master; Luke remained beside him, letting go of   
his hand the moment that he let him do so.  
  
"Still distant I see," the ruler commented coldly.   
  
"Yes, Master," Vader answered truthfully even as he stood up and took a step   
closer to his son.  
  
Why did he have a very bad feeling about this?, he wondered uneasily.   
  
The Emperor addressed the child.  
  
"Welcome all the same, young Vader. How do you like your new life so far?"  
  
Even though he was young, the child was gifted, or cursed, with a quick spirit.  
His blue eyes seemed to pierce the veil of shadows around the Emperor--- and he   
suddenly took a step away, as if scared to death.  
  
"You are a bad man, even worse than Vader," he answered with the wisdom of a   
seer.  
  
While Vader meant to admonish him for talking this way to the Emperor, the ruler   
didn't answer. Instead, he lashed out at the defenseless child-----'  
  
  
  
  
  
Anakin pulled himself out of his vision and gasped in horror.  
  
By the Force he had truly saved his son's life with his actions... He---  
  
His thoughts came to a sudden halt when he became aware that he wasn't alone   
anymore.  
  
In front of him, on a boulder, was a small, pointy-eared, green skinned alien;   
he was gazing at him with what looked like compassionate eyes.  
  
"Master Yoda," he half-whispered in both shock and disbelief.  
  
He had completely given up on his ever finding the last of the Jedi.  
  
"Ready you are, Anakin Skywalker," he nodded slowly, then fell silent once   
again.  
  
Anakin also remained silent for a long, long while, pondering the master's   
words.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
As Luke looked around himself, he felt the desire to duck out and leave what   
looked like an impossible task to him.  
  
He had followed Piett and Leia's advice and used the help of the volunteers for   
the Senate. He had also put out a call for each planet to choose one senator to   
represent them, then had set the law that each planet would be responsible of   
their senator's income so that they would make sure of his or her service to   
them, not himself.  
  
From this day on, it had been an unstoppable if sinuous path to today... the   
opening session of the new Senate.  
  
While he had personally met with each senator and run them through his senses,   
and that he had barred a few of them from their seats until someone else could   
replace them, he still felt more than uneasy. No less than eight thousands   
beings were gathered in the huge audience room, and while they were all   
relatively good people when alone, he had now read enough books about group   
philosophy to fear what would happen if those senators were to follow a bad   
leader.  
  
Hence, here he was, standing near the raised dais but nowhere near the   
spotlight, mentally crossing his fingers that the Force hadn't made a mistake   
with him.  
  
He himself still felt like a fish out of the water.  
  
Around them, the senators and their aides finished to take their seats, then   
waited for the temporary chairman to start the session. The first order of the   
day would be to elect a chairman and a president, a true one.   
  
Given the potential request of involving him with the President nomination, Luke   
had agreed with the temporary chairman that he himself would not participate in   
any way to those procedures.  
  
He was like a guardian who kept eyes on things, nothing else; he had repeated   
this to them so many times that it had been dubbed as his mantra in the early   
jokes of the new senators..   
  
A signal finally went off, indicating the beginning of the procedures. Thanks   
to the throng of reporters and news droids, thousands of flashes went off all   
around the dais; the news people though were gathered on the press level, high   
above the rest of the assembly.  
  
When such flashes went off around him, Luke forced himself to remain still, not   
paying attention to them. He had a job to do, and the better he did it, the   
less trouble he would have to fix, he reminded himself sternly.  
  
He began his long hours of semi-meditation. Meanwhile, senators of experience   
presented their candidature for the much sought-after positions in the galactic   
government.   
  
Throughout those long hours of negotiation and voting, thousands of feelings   
constantly assailed Luke's senses, but thank the Force, they never raised his   
trigger-set alarms.  
  
For the moment...  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Parsecs away, Mara spent her lunch time watching the holovid, as did everyone   
else in the employee's cantina.  
  
For the first time in nearly thirty years, the Senate was seating again.  
Nobody wanted to miss this first session.  
  
However, she admitted to herself while she listened to the results of the first   
tour for the seat of the Chairman, she herself didn't care much about politics.  
She was watching it because of the frequent glimpses of her lover. He was   
standing outside the dais, far from where the report droids were gathered, but   
they had still found him.  
  
He looked tired, she thought sympathetically as she studied his serious, still   
gorgeous features. He also looked more mature than when she had last seen him.   
However, she covered her smile with her hand, she could still tell that he   
wanted to be anywhere but where he was at the moment.  
  
That had to be boring, she silently agreed with him.  
  
However, she noticed when the shots returned to him, he did what he had to do;   
she wondered exactly what he was focusing on for so long... His eyes were half-  
closed. Anybody who didn't know him might think that he was falling asleep but   
she knew better. She had instantly understood that he was scanning the room for   
deceit, and given the status of his eyes, she knew that it wasn't a light scan   
either.   
  
He was totally immersed in his task, but for what?, she wondered seriously. She   
had heard about his meeting each senator personally, had heard about his refusal   
of some elements. What was the problem then?, she wanted to ask him. The image   
changed back to the rest of the crowd, then returned to a far view of the Jedi   
guardian.  
  
While the reporter whispered to explain to the watchers what they were seeing,   
Mara took advantage of the image to admire her lover's still strong body. He   
was still dressed in navy blue and white, effectively dispelling any reminder of   
who he used to be; he was still as well-built as ever, and she couldn't detect   
any signs of weaknesses in him.  
  
Just like when he had been a Dark Lord. He was sturdy, ready for action, and...   
boyish looking, she finished with a soft smile.   
  
The image changed again; she checked her chrono. Time to go back; her   
substitute probably wanted to eat a little.  
  
  
  
  
When she entered the children's play room, she reflexively searched for Plee, as   
she had done ever since her death, then her brain caught with her and reminded   
her that she wasn't with them anymore.  
  
Still feeling a slight pang of guilt, she forced herself to work in spite of it.  
Other children needed her help and appreciated her company.  
  
"Mara!" a little twi-lek girl smiled toothily at her, then slowly stood to her   
feet. "Can you tell us a story?"  
  
"Please?" another little girl begged, looking up from her new game.  
  
*Oh yes, with battles and heroes," one of the Wookiee twins added, pulling on   
her hand to make her sit down for a long storytelling.  
  
Mara couldn't help but smile at their enthusiasm.  
  
"And princesses?" a new voice asked her in mangled basic, then the sluissi girl   
plopped down in the gathering group.  
  
As the young woman finally relented and sat down with the children, she noticed   
that almost everyone had already installed themselves for a story.  
  
"Okay, so action, a princess, and a hero? On one condition," she smiled at them   
even as the story began to take shape in her mind.  
  
"What?" several voices asked eagerly.  
  
"I will begin it," she told them gently, "but you will have to decide the end."  
  
"Yeah!!!!" the children cheered, then quieted down and waited for her to begin.  
  
"Once upon a time, on a planet far from the center of the universe," she began   
slowly, gently, "was a beautiful princess. Her name was Maya and her hair was   
the color of the sun. Her beauty was such that no man could not fall in love   
with her. Her father, an evil king, knew this and secretly used her to conquer   
enemies only to destroy them afterward."  
  
The children were hooked, drinking in every one of her words.  
  
"Princess Maya didn't know what kind of man her father truly was. Being her   
sole parent, he had always loved her for two and always gave her everything her   
heart desired, but in a way, he was blinding her with his kindness," she   
commented sadly while trying hard to not get too emotional with the twist she   
had chosen.  
  
It was very close to home, she admitted to herself, but shrugged her doubt away   
and went on.  
  
"Bad man," a little girl pouted against her hands.  
  
"Yes," Mara agreed with her, "but Maya was not alone in the castle," she   
reassured them, smiling slightly as she continued to adapt hers and Luke's story   
to the fairy-tale format. "A boy of her age also lived there with his father,   
who was serving the evil king. The two children were almost inseparable, except   
when Maya's father would take her away. Strangely, Lik, her friend, was the   
only boy, then young man who wasn't spellbound by Maya's beauty; it puzzled and   
worried her wary father."  
  
"Lik didn't like her? But she must have been so beautiful," a young teenager   
commented from Mara's left.  
  
"Oh, he thought that she was beautiful," she reassured the children, "but he   
wasn't in love with her at first sight. Instead, he had the chance to know her   
for who she was, and she knew him the same way."  
  
In the group, the little girls nodded their heads in understanding.  
  
"When they had been younger, Maya's father hadn't minded much. His daughter had   
always liked to play with his servant's son; since he didn't want to upset her,   
he had never kept her away from the boy. However, the more she grew in age and   
beauty," she began more seriously, "and the more he wanted to keep her away from   
Lik."  
  
"Oh no," several young voices whispered in worry.  
  
"Why?" a younger boy inquired with a frown.  
  
"Even though Maya and Lik didn't know it yet," she answered him, leaning closer   
to him as if she were revealing a secret, "the king knew that the two teenagers   
were falling in love; he didn't like it at all. If Maya were in love, then he   
knew that he would lose the weapon that was her beauty. He didn't want to lose   
this, and especially not to a boy who didn't want to serve him like his father   
did," she finished even more seriously.  
  
"Lik knew how bad the king was?" a child queried seriously.  
  
"Yes, he did," Mara nodded. "But unfortunately, he was the only one who knew it   
in the kingdom. When the king ordered Lik's father to keep him away from Maya,   
his father obeyed the king."  
  
"Oh no," the children cringed again in delightful, entertaining worry.  
  
"Unfortunately," Mara nodded in answer. "Lik was kept away from Maya, given   
duties to perform at home instead, but one night, around his eighteenth   
anniversary and after Maya had returned from a travel with her father, Lik left   
his bed and tried to contact her without their fathers knowing it. He met her   
on her balcony."  
  
She then proceeded to spin them a tale of Lik admitting his love for her, but   
being secretly banned from the kingdom when the king learnt about this thanks to   
his evil magical powers. She then told them how Lik's love for May was stronger   
than even Krayt dragons, gangsters and volcanoes and that he eventually   
returned, but not before discovering that he too was a mage, the opposite kind   
of the king's.   
  
"By that time," she continued, two hours after the beginning of the story,   
"Lik's father had begun to doubt the king's word about his son running away, so   
when he saw his grown son, who had become a true Knight during his missing three   
years, he decided to help him kill the evil king."  
  
"Yeah, go Lik!" the little boys cheered from their laying positions on the   
floor.  
  
"How did they do that?" a little girl asked. "I thought the king was an evil   
magician."  
  
"Yes," Mara nodded, "but remember that Lik is also a mage now. To surprise the   
king, they pretended that Lik had been captured by his father upon his return   
and that given the secrecy of his disappearance, he had taken him directly to   
the king. Naturally, the king was very angry to see him still alive. He had   
magically transferred him to the end of the world in hopes that he would die   
there, but instead, the young, inexperienced adult was back and a trained   
Knight. He was very angry," she told them in as angry a voice as she could   
mimick without sounding truly angry.  
  
She smiled slightly as she felt the shivers of apprehension that came from the   
children. She hurried to finish the hero's tale.  
  
"The king stepped down from his throne, confident that the youth was a true   
prisoner, and meant to hurt him but before he had finished to raise his hand,   
Lik's father drew his sword and gravelly injured his king."  
  
"Whew!" several young voices whispered while they continued to hug their pillows   
in worry.  
  
"Lik used that time to free his hands from the false ropes, then took his magic   
sword from his father's belt to defend himself from the guards nearby, but what   
neither of them had thought was that the king survived his injury."  
  
"Oh no..." a young girl moaned, burying her face in Mara's shoulder.  
  
"The evil king was even more angry; he called on his secret powers and pushed   
Lik's father against a wall, then meant to do the same thing with the boy--- but   
he was blocked. Lik was fighting him with his own powers!"  
  
"Go Lik!!!" earnest giggles encouraged the hero.  
  
"Absolutely surprised by this," Mara continued in a voice that supported 'her'   
hero, "the king tried again, with another power, but with the same result. Lik   
was the first being to ever resist him this way. He changed tactics and ordered   
his guards to kill him. Lik crossed swords with the five other men, then when   
one died, used a second sword to keep the four other at bay."  
  
"Wow!"  
  
"Wish I could see that," an older boy commented earnestly.  
  
"Lik fought like a lion, thrusting, parrying and slashing with as much speed as   
he could while not hurting himself. Behind them, the king was furious,   
gathering his powers to attack him again--- but he had forgotten about Lik's   
father. Even as Lik killed two more guards, the king's life came to an end, for   
real this time," she finished with a pride she had never expressed before now.  
  
"Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!" the children cheered in unison.   
  
"However, it wasn't completely over," Mara told them seriously, reaching the   
crux of her true story. "Lik and his father weren't alone in the room. Someone   
else had seen the death of the king... Someone who loved her father."  
  
"Oh no, Princess Maya!!" an older girl understood instantly.  
  
"Yes," she nodded sadly. "She was there, behind curtains. At first, she had   
been elated to see Lik again, but when his father had attacked her father, she   
had begun to hate him. As she had watched the confrontation, she had decided   
that something had happened to her friend during his missing years and he had   
become evil. Then, she had witnessed her father's powers and had become even   
more confused. Hence, once quiet had returned to the throne room, she crept out   
of the curtains, unsure whether she wanted to avenge her father or return to the   
only man she had ever loved. Her friend saw her," she finished, pausing to add   
dramatic effect to the story.  
  
The children were literally holding their breaths. She decided to not make them   
languish too much.  
  
"For a long moment," she continued softly, "Lik and Maya gazed at each other,   
unable to say a word yet felt like they could talk for days on end to catch up   
with the past three years--- then, on instinct, Maya turned her back to him and   
disappeared down a secret corridor."  
  
"No, Maya, don't do this!"  
  
"Go back," someone else agreed with her friend.  
  
Mara continued sadly, aware that she had made a mistake back then, when similar   
events had played out in front of her true eyes. "Princess Maya remained away   
from Lik for a long while," she continued sadly, "refusing to see him or talk to   
him, staying on her own in her rooms. Then, one day, she secretly left the   
palace and went in the village. Things were different," she commented, trying   
to convey her character's shock through her voice. "People were happy now, and   
no more king had risen to power. At that moment, she understood why Lik and his   
father had killed her father, which now left only one question: should she go   
back to him?.. or not?" she finished hesitantly.  
  
"Go back, go back!" a little girl answered instantly.  
  
"They love each other, they should be together," an elder boy added more   
seriously.  
  
"Lik must miss her after all those years,"   
  
"Nothing stands between them now," another girl added with a wide smile.  
  
"But what about her father?" Mara asked them seriously. "She loved him and he   
had lied to her. Can she love Lik without being hurt?"  
  
"The king didn't love her, he was using her," Chandor replied sincerely.  
  
"I bet her beauty was magical," another child nodded in agreement.  
  
"So he hurt her too," someone else added seriously.  
  
"But Lik would never hurt her," an older teenager commented seriously, almost   
knowingly.  
  
While the children exchanged more opinions, Mara reflected that she was getting   
more than she had bargained for with this. She had meant to tell them a story   
and get a few, uncertain answers, but instead, they were all adamant that the   
two lovers belonged together.  
  
That she should return to Luke. What surprised her the most was the children's   
insight in the characters. True, Luke would never hurt her, and yes, the   
Emperor had never even cared for her; devotion to him couldn't be compared to   
her love for Luke. And, she admitted sadly as an image of Luke in the senate   
came back to her, her lover was unhappy nowadays.   
  
He hadn't been only tired, she understood; he had been lonelier than lonely.  
For someone who had always had a least her or his father nearby, this has got to   
be extremely difficult, she thought glumly.  
  
"So, what is the end?" she asked the children although she knew what their   
answer would be.  
  
"Princess Maya returned to the castle," a first one began.  
  
"There, she met with Lik and forgave him for killing her father."  
  
"He was a very bad man," a third, younger child added seriously.  
  
"Then they married, had several children and lived happily ever after," a   
normally not romantic teenager finished solemnly.  
  
"Yes!!" the younger ones agreed excitedly.  
  
"Okay," Mara forced herself to not betray the truth of her story. "Now how   
about we draw images from this story?"  
  
Before she had finished her suggestions, the better adapted children were   
already on their feet and taking out the coloring screens. The more impaired   
children followed them if a little more slowly.  
  
While she watched them at work, Mara tried to debate with herself instead of   
trusting the children's judgment, but a sentence continuously nagged at her:   
truth came from children's mouths. She could now understand what the wise man   
had mean by this, and as she began to see the results of the drawing activities,   
she reflected that it wasn't restricted to their mouths, but their spirits.  
  
Most of the girls had chosen to draw the end of the story, with her returning to   
Luke. She dimly wondered if they would have chosen the same ending if she had   
told them that it would mean that she would have to leave them to return to her   
hero...  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
TBC in part 9: Healings  
  
SJ: Skyjade@globetrotter.net (any positive stuff is welcome, but negative or   
mean comments will be thrown down the Sarlacc's throat without being read.) 


	44. A Whole New Life 9: Healings

A Whole New Life  
Part 9: Healings  
By SJ 12-23-01/15-04-02 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
  
Days later, Ani peacefully walked toward his now daily destination: Yoda's hut.  
  
After appearing to Anakin, Yoda had taken him to his own hut, then had discussed   
at length about the past with him. What still surprised Ani was that despite   
his own guilt regarding his son, and the fact that he had had to compact his   
tall body in a small ball to sit in Yoda's hut, he had not even felt a spark of   
anger or resent rising from his deep self.  
  
Instead, he had felt at peace, perhaps not completely, but much more so than he   
would have been had he been through this when he had first arrived on Dagobah.  
  
That was why, the old master had said, he had waited for him to make peace with   
himself before revealing himself. It was also by his design that he had landed   
where he had, he had admitted, although he had apologized about the quick sands;   
they hadn't been his doings.  
  
  
Still, Ani reflected wistfully, the results were the same: he was stranded, and   
happy to be so, he admitted. Had he had the possibility to return to Luke, he   
now knew that he would have never been able to achieve the focus that he needed   
to complete his healing.  
  
More and more, the past was over for him; he had stopped persecuting himself   
about it... except for one element: his beloved son. Despite his vision and   
Yoda's assurance that Luke's unconscious sacrifices had been extremely necessary   
to reach this point in time, Anakin still had much trouble forgiving himself.  
He could still hear his son's screams when he had hurt him, could even see his   
tears of despair, either as a child or an adult.  
  
However, the Jedi reminded himself, he would have to forgive himself sooner or   
later; his guilt was blocking his remaining healing: his lungs. The rest of him   
was mostly restored now; since he was exposed to what sun came through on   
Dagobah, his exposed flesh had even begun to regain a more healthy color.  
  
However, he thought more sadly, he still had to wear his mask to breathe to   
prove his shame and guilt, it seemed.  
  
He finally reached his destination; he lowered himself until he was on his hands   
and knees, then crawled inside the small hut.  
  
"Good morning, Master Yoda," he said to the sole inhabitant of the hut.  
  
"Slept well have you, Anakin?" the small alien asked him in return.  
  
"Not as much as I'd like," he answered truthfully while he shifted his body into   
a sitting position. "I'm still plagued by visions of the past."  
  
Ever since they had intensified their work on his time with his son, he had   
begun to relive the shameful events night after night, keeping himself from   
having a good night's rest.  
  
"Fighting your guilt is," his friend answered while he slowly walked closer to   
him. "Die it does not want."  
  
"In a way, Master Yoda, I don't think it should either," he commented softly,   
casting his eyes downward in sadness. "Even if I, as Anakin, would never have   
done that, I still did it... I decided to do it."  
  
"No choice you had, Anakin," Yoda reminded him seriously. "If otherwise you had   
done, dead Luke would be."  
  
"And the galaxy wouldn't be free from the Dark Side, I know," he completed. "I   
just don't want to dismiss those events as if they were inconsequential.   
Forgiving myself of all the kills that I made while Vader is one thing," he then   
added earnestly, "but forgiving myself for hurting my son... He means too much   
to me to treat him like the rest of my estranged victims," he finished glumly.  
  
"Yet forgive 'you' Luke does," Yoda pointed out to him. "Told you he did. Not   
a stranger he thinks he is, yet asks you to forgive yourself, he does," the   
master reminded him wisely.  
  
"I know," Ani sighed forlornly. "But he also wanted me to stay with him instead   
of going away to save myself. He doesn't see me for the evil man that I once   
was."  
  
"Bad he also was, Anakin. Understands he does."  
  
"I suppose," he agreed reluctantly.   
  
"Meditate on this we shall again," Yoda told him as he sat in front of him, then   
offered him his small hands to join his powers to his.  
  
Anakin rested his hands under the master's, then closed his eyes and forced his   
sorrow out of his mind.  
  
Slowly, he and Yoda immersed themselves in his memories and feelings even as   
they initiated a healing trance on his body.  
  
As it had every day since he had met again with Yoda, his body welcomed the   
soothing energies, continuing his surface healing--- but when it came to his   
lungs, the energies were still blocked, not because of the machinery, as he had   
discovered when his kidneys and innards had healed themselves in spite of those,   
but because of his feelings.  
  
Thus, he set about really forcing himself to make peace with himself about his   
son. All day long, he relived the past memories, and winced every time that he   
witnessed the violence of the past... and every time, he failed to forgive   
himself.  
  
At least, he reflected when he exited the trance, later in the evening, he knew   
for sure that he loved his son, perhaps even more than he had loved his wife and   
daughter since he had forgiven himself about them.  
  
It was a very small consolation.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
'Four weeks now', Luke counted on the time device of his private office in the   
Senate building on Coruscant. The Senate had been running for four weeks now,   
and no real problem had surfaced. There had, of course, been a few small,   
private interventions with driven individuals, but nothing serious enough to   
warrant their expulsion from the government.  
  
All in all, he reflected while he leaned back in his chair and rubbed his tired   
eyes, it was going well.  
  
Once the craziness of the first days had retreated in the background, things had   
truly begun to develop normally and the senators' every little gesture, as well   
as his owns, were no longer reported on the first page of every news report in   
the galaxy.  
  
He himself had lost count of the number of holovid papers which had selected a   
close-range shot of him in meditation to accompany their articles about the   
opening senate. Not the best way to take the focus off of him, he had wanted to   
send them via private messages, but had restrained himself. It would only pour   
oil on the fire, something which he didn't need at the moment.  
  
So far, his gamble had paid off and he was off the grid, well mostly, he amended   
while he regained a more upright position. A few reporters still jumped on   
anything concerning him, but most of the rest didn't matter much about him   
anymore. Instead, they tried to find faults in their local senators, or in very   
minor accidents here and there.  
  
Luke naturally read all those news, and all the reports from his   
spying/informant teams; he also kept a very close eye on anything that could   
escalate, but he didn't give orders anymore. Instead, he just informed the   
rulers of his worries... who then brought them up in the Senate, and their   
chosen officers. In short, the Fleet now responded directly to the Senate, no   
one else.  
  
Piett had remained as the first Admiral of the fleet, but the officer in charge   
of Coruscant had been changed for a woman, who was thought to be excellent at   
keeping peace in the capitol world. Luke had had to agree with them, but he had   
hurried to re-station his ex-general in another sector where he needed his   
expertise. Then, with the help of the new officer, and Coruscant's Senators, he   
had set up 'his' own project about how to help the citizens of the capitol   
world.   
  
As he prepared to return to his quarters, he reflected once again about his   
first, very concrete action as a politician. After discussing his plans with   
the senators of what was now known as Capitol City, he had requested plans to   
modify his father's castle, the Imperial Palace and Xizor's Castle. Once the   
plans had been ready, the three castles had been heavily modified to dispel any   
remnants of their dark past, but they had also retained everything that made   
them a feast for the eyes and mind--- then had been opened to only certain   
categories of citizens, namely those who needed them most.   
  
At first, his idea hadn't been very popular with the new senate and the populace   
in general, but after organizing visits of the two palaces which would be mostly   
for the regular citizens, applications had begun to find their way to Luke who   
had, after a study of each case, presented his selection to the Senate.  
  
They had wholeheartedly agreed with him.  
  
After all, he reflected with a light, very light sneer, the Senators had kept   
the former Imperial palace for their living quarters as well as the headquarters   
of the Fleet and of the remaining army of volunteers. However, unlike in the   
two other palaces, they had agreed to pay a rent to the galactic treasure,   
perhaps not as expensive as one might think, but they still had to pay to stay   
there whereas the occupants of the two other buildings only had to take care of   
their food, clothes and extra furniture.  
  
Everything else in the two other castles was free.  
  
In the case of his father's castle, the apartments had been given to victims of   
Coruscant's unfairness, which Luke had wanted to compensate. Thus, each level   
of the former Vader castle was now occupied by families, except for the last   
one; it was his own, and his father's if he ever returned.  
  
Xizor's Palace had also been given away to families, but in less dire needs than   
the ones relocated in what was now known as Skywalker's Castle. It had simply   
been a question of fairness, and a small attempt to help people in need, he   
thought wistfully.  
  
No less than a thousand families were now sheltered from the elements and could   
live in a safe environment, without the need to sacrifice anything to have a   
place to live. Naturally, no one lived in the levels where the detention blocks   
had been; they had been filled with concrete and sealed.   
  
And now that the project had made its proofs, he was now working on   
possibilities to repeat the procedure in other cities and on other planets; he   
was perfectly aware that he wouldn't run out of people to help any time soon.  
  
However, he admitted on his way down, helping them this way was something he was   
truly proud of. Given the size of each building on Coruscant, he had been able   
to help a surprising number of people while giving them more luxury than they   
could ever dream of. Also, despite the number of people now inhabiting the huge   
buildings, each family still had more than enough room to live without feeling   
as if they were crowded.  
  
As for the governmental rents, they went directly to the most pauper populations   
of the galaxy, providing them with food, shelter or just a little more money to   
go by without risking their health. And, he thought seriously, this was just   
the beginning of what he could do for them.  
  
Yes, he conceded, things were now going very well. He admitted that he had   
never thought that the Senate would give him the opportunity to bring this   
project to life. He knew that he wouldn't have thought of it had he remained   
only with the army; it was the comments of future senators that had led him to   
formulate this idea, and he now had several more in mind. He had recovered his   
cleverness, at last.  
  
All he needed, he conceded, was to get involved in the larger senate to present   
them to the voting body. However, he wasn't exactly ready to do so.  
  
He finally exited the huge building, which was built alongside the same   
architectural lines than the old senate except for the non-gravitional   
environment; the senators were seated in regular chairs now to spare the expense   
of keeping in good order all the mini space-crafts that would have been needed   
otherwise.  
  
As he gazed around himself, Luke reflected that it was 'indeed' peaceful in the   
galaxy. At last.  
  
He decided to return 'home' via the streets.  
  
  
  
He walked at a normal pace, enjoying the feeling of being amongst happy people.  
Leia had been right, he reflected lightly; things would be all right now.  
  
At first, he only paid attention to the smiles and the bustling life around him,   
but slowly, he noticed that people were recognizing him. He also immediately   
understood that they didn't know how to react to his presence. He tried to help   
them by merely nodding his head if they looked at him, then went on his way.  
  
He heard whispers afterward, telling him that he would probably hear about this   
in the news tomorrow--- then he slowly became aware that some people were   
following him. His warning sense began to tingle with more urgency; he looked up   
at the horizon.  
  
He was perhaps fifteen minutes away from his destination; he hastened his pace.  
  
However, since he wasn't thinking in terms of efficiency but privacy, he   
completely missed the approaching danger until he saw five men closing in on him   
from five different directions.  
  
He reached out--- and swallowed hard. He was unarmed except for his body, and   
no less than ten thugs were effectively blocking any possible escape route.  
As if sensing the danger, the street suddenly cleared of by-passers.  
  
"If it ain't Jedi Skywalker," one of the outlaw sneered meanly. "What's wrong?   
You missed your first class transport?"  
  
"Why don't you let us take you home?" another added, tapping what looked like a   
heavy and sturdy piece of metal in his hand.  
  
In the dim light of twilight though, Luke couldn't be sure.   
  
"What can I do for you, gentlemen?" he asked them coolly, slowly getting into a   
fighting stance.  
  
"Oh, not much," a burly man with chains sneered.  
  
"Just give us access to the galactic treasure, for a start," someone behind Luke   
added, then pounced on him.  
  
Luke was ready. He ducked under his attack, then shoved his shoulders upward   
and against him; he bodily lifted the other off the ground before throwing him   
into half of his companions.  
  
It set off the other half. The man with the metal bar angrily swung his weapon   
where Luke's head was; he had already ducked again, and again, then he grabbed   
hold of Burly's chains and pulled on them. With the help of the Force, the   
other let them go as if scalded; Luke swung them, then threw it his bar-wielding   
enemy.  
  
It pinned his arms to his sides. The Jedi wasn't out of danger yet though; he   
flipped backward on his hands, avoiding a stun bolt, then flipped back to his   
feet, but not before kicking two more thugs where it hurt real bad with powerful   
rear-kicks.  
  
Meanwhile, the five first ones had finally disentangled themselves from each   
other and were coming on him. Luke jumped and twirled in the air, this time   
forward; he landed a round-house kick on the head of another one.   
  
Unfortunately, when the man's neck snapped under the impact, the Jedi couldn't   
help but feel slightly nauseated by his still deadly skills---- and missed the   
bolt that caught him straight in the arm. It cut his concentration long enough   
for a nearby aggressor to retaliate for his fallen comrades.   
  
Three, well placed hits and Luke was on the ground, fighting hard to retain his   
consciousness.  
  
"Someone will pay dearly for you, Jedi," one of the man sneered, then attacked   
him again.   
  
Luke almost blacked out at that; he wasn't aware enough to realize that someone   
had come to his rescue.  
  
  
  
  
Mara had debated long and hard with herself, but in the end, the children had   
convinced her to see Luke again.  
  
She had been saddened by the necessity to leave them, but since her young   
charges had insisted that she went, even if it meant losing her, she hadn't   
resisted them. She knew that she could trust their judgment.  
  
Hence, she had boarded her ship and programmed a direct jump to Coruscant.   
There, she had watched the news to know where her boyfriend was, then... had   
been working up her courage to see him again while watching the Senate building   
in the distance.  
  
She had still been doing so when the object of her thoughts had entered her   
senses. His presence had been like a beacon in her mind; she had looked up just   
in time to see him walk past her--- then had noticed the dangerous-looking   
beings who had been following him.  
  
She had followed them.  
  
At first, she hadn't intervened in the fight, unsure if she was ready to fight   
again, let alone face Luke again, but the moment that his defenses had crumpled,   
she had jumped into the fray.  
  
Unlike Luke, who didn't have any weapons on him, she had her blaster.  
  
She stunned three of the five remaining men within the bat of her eyelids, then   
finished the two others with a hard elbow on one's nose and a powerful kick that   
clipped the second, small alien just under the jaw.  
  
The streets were once again quiet. She knelt at Luke's sides, dimly remembering   
the last time she had seen him in a similar state... aboard the Executor when he   
had been keeping up appearances.  
  
"Luke," she called even as she scanned him for serious damage.  
  
Other than a concussion and a blaster shot, he was all right.   
  
"Luke, wake up, it's not time to take a nap," she tried to rouse him with a   
joke.  
  
"Mmmm... what happened?" he moaned, his eyes still closed while he slowly rolled   
on his back.  
  
"What were you thinking, walking down the street like that?" she rebuked him   
lightly. "Don't you have a speeder or something?"  
  
Luke slightly shook his head, then he opened his eyes--- and sat bolt upright in   
shock.  
  
  
  
When Luke's senses began to return to him, it was thanks to an insistent,   
somehow familiar voice who was teasing him. Why did he know that voice, he   
asked himself while he tried to remember why he had lost consciousness in the   
first place.  
  
Finally, he managed to place the voice as Mara's, but it was impossible, he   
reminded himself. She was far away, making peace with herself and hadn't   
contacted him even once for he didn't know how long.  
  
He brought his left hand to his face--- hissed when his arm informed him that it   
was injured. He forced his eyes open to see the extent of the damage, but the   
first thing he saw was the mass of red-gold hair that was leaning over him.  
  
Red-gold---- Suddenly, his savior's features came into sharp focus and he   
understood that he was seeing Mara; he wasn't imagining her.  
  
He sat bolt upright--- and collided hard with her head.  
  
"Ow," they both groaned, rubbing their foreheads to ease the pain. "What's   
wrong?" his girlfriend asked.  
  
"Mara?? Is it really you?" he asked even as he searched her eyes for answers.   
  
"Of course it's me, farmboy," she answered, then shifted her position until she   
could help him to get to his feet. "Are you up to walking?"  
  
"Huh, I think so," he answered, but decided that he wouldn't leave her off the   
hook this easily. "What are you doing here? I thought I'd never see you again,   
or not very soon anyway," he finished sadly.  
  
"I had to work on some things, but it's okay now. Up you go," she told him even   
as she helped him back to his feet.  
  
Luke, who was still slightly dazed by his hits and slight loss of blood, wavered   
slightly against her--- bringing even more to reality that she was indeed with   
him.  
  
"Whoa," she commented lightly, "take it easy and lean on me if you have to," she   
instructed him.  
  
He dimly reflected that bodily support wasn't something she used to know about,   
but dismissed it for the moment.   
  
She was back... and saving him again.  
  
  
  
  
Mara noticed her boyfriend's shock; she recognized the stun silence, the widened   
eyes and parted lips. She made a note to make sure that it didn't become   
pathologic thanks to his slight injury.  
  
"So," she asked him while she hefted his weight against herself, "do you have a   
speeder or anything to get you out of here fast?"  
  
"Hmmm, yeah," he nodded, then moved to search himself with is injured arm.  
  
Once again, it informed him to remain still.   
  
While she shook her head at his typical stubbornness, she asked him what he was   
looking for.  
  
"A homing beacon," he answered, then told her what it looked like.  
  
While she patted around his hips for the small device, she reflected that this   
was much closer to him than she had ever thought to be upon her return. His   
body, which she still remembered quite well, was pressed sideways against hers,   
and her patting hand could feel that he hadn't lost any of his shape. And then,   
she thought as she produced the device and called his speeder to them, there was   
his closer than close presence: warm, gentle, simple... intoxicating.  
  
"Come on, we have to leave this street," she urged him even as curious by-  
standers began to re-emerge from their hiding place to witness his demise or   
that of his attackers.  
  
  
  
  
While Luke stumbled beside Mara, he reflected that it almost felt as if they had   
never parted company. They were still like one mind, knowing what to do to help   
the other without their asking for it.  
  
However, they had been apart for a while. While the Emperor had been alive,   
they had already been kept away from one another for a while, then the fateful   
day had come and things had never been the same between them...  
  
"I missed you, Mara," he told her simply while he struggled to regain his   
strengths.  
  
For a moment, she stopped walking and gazed at him, then she resumed their   
walking.  
  
"I missed you too, Luke,... much more than you might believe," she finished   
softly.  
  
Before he could ask her more questions, his speeder reached them. They climbed   
aboard, then he directed her toward Skywalker's palace.  
  
  
  
  
Once at the palace, Luke told her to use the secret lift; it was still only   
accessible by Jedis. Once in the lift, her boyfriend regained a little more   
stability on his feet.  
  
"I was worried about you when you last contacted me," he finally told her in the   
silence.  
  
"Yeah, I was lost," she admitted, her eyes seeking his. "I didn't know that   
what you and your father did was right."  
  
"And now you do?" he asked her, leaning slightly away from the wall.  
  
"Yes," she nodded seriously, then slowly stepped closer to him. "I'm sorry for   
almost killing you, Luke," she said earnestly. "I'm sorry for giving you   
trouble when I should have helped you... and I'm sorry for not coming back   
earlier," she finished sadly.  
  
For a long moment, both hers and Luke's eyes met, as if from great distances,   
then all of a sudden, there weren't anymore distances. They were back to being   
one mind, one soul, one love.  
  
Luke engulfed her in his one-arm embrace, his relief and joy mingling into tears   
as he held her as close to himself as he could.  
  
"I forgive you, my love," he reassured her earnestly. "There's nothing to   
forgive, but if you need my words to feel at peace, then I forgive you."  
  
"Oh, Luke," she whispered in relief against his shoulder, then, unable to resist   
her passion, drew away from him only to capture his lips in a reunion kiss. *I   
never stopped loving you; nothing could stand between you and me... I just   
didn't want to accept it, I'm sorry.*  
  
*And I'm sorry for not telling you the truth when it all began, Mara,* he   
commented in kind. *I was afraid to lose you right away... I wanted to postpone   
this moment,* he sent back with all his love.  
  
*But you were right to hide it from me; I wouldn't have been ready to face the   
truth. I needed... time and... help,* she finished somewhat sadly at the   
thought of all her little charges on Capara.  
  
They were happy for her, but she missed them already, she admitted to herself.  
  
"And they told you to listen to your heart," her lover commented softly, his   
eyes filled with compassion as he saw her memory of the children.  
  
She nodded in answer.   
  
"They helped me translate its screams of despair," she explained warmly, then   
resumed their passionate kiss.  
  
Luke pulled her even closer until she decided to help him by pressing him back   
into the wall. There, they both deepened their embrace while their minds   
silently caught up with their missing months in each other lives.  
  
Thus, Mara saw Luke's solitude and his fight to do the right thing while he   
himself saw her near failure against the Dark side before she met with the   
children and met her true self, thanks to her care for them.  
  
Neither of them noticed that they had reached their floor.  
  
Not right away at any rate.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
The next morning, Luke awoke to a feeling he hadn't thought he would experience   
ever again.  
  
Mara was back in his arms and soul. After taking care of his light injury, they   
had spent the evening catching up on the past, sometimes with words, but   
sometimes with the language of love.  
  
It had been almost magical, but this morning was even more so, he thought   
dreamily. In his opinion, no activity could compare with watching his lover's   
serene features while she was asleep. She seemed to be radiating with light   
under the shy sunrays of a new day.  
  
Especially her fiery, captivating hair, he smiled lazily, the smile of a man in   
love. He sighed in contentment, then gently caressed her soft cheek.   
  
He couldn't understand how he had survived without her, he conceded seriously,   
how he had even managed to go on with his life after their separation. Even   
when he had been a dark Jedi, he had found the months of separation   
interminable, so as a Jedi with a renewed heart, it had been close to a constant   
torture... especially coupled with his father's leaving.  
  
However, he reflected less glumly, he had survived, had even succeeded in   
reaching most of his goals, and even some that he had never thought about   
before, he admitted shyly. But even more important, he then reflected, the   
separation seemed to have fortified their love for one another, making them   
understand how much the other truly meant to them, not by obligation or physical   
desire, but because they really wanted to spend the rest of their lives   
together.  
  
One while two.  
  
"Hmmmm," the object of his thoughts sighed softly even as she cuddled closer to   
him, "here's one more thing I missed," she commented gently.  
  
"What is that?" he asked even as he leaned closer to her awakening features.  
  
Her beautiful green eyes finally met his gaze, then she smiled the kind of smile   
that she kept exclusively for him, the man she loved.  
  
"Waking up to your caresses," she told him softly, then craned her neck to be   
closer to his already close features, "and you," she finished just before their   
lips met in a sweet kiss.  
  
*Good morning, my love* he sent warmly.  
  
*Slept well?* she asked him even as her free arm snaked around his neck and   
pulled him until he was over her.  
  
*Much better than in a very long while,* he answered while he cupped her cheek   
and deepened their embrace.   
  
*Is your arm all right?* she inquired even as she gently touched it with her   
fingers.  
  
Luke shivered at her feather-like touch; he didn't break their languorous   
moment.  
  
*It sure passed the tests of last night,* he retorted lightly even as he rolled   
on his back until she was resting on him instead of the opposite.  
  
He didn't want to crush her under his weight. However, Mara had other ideas and   
pulled him back to his previous position.  
  
"I'm not that tired yet, Luke," she commented slyly. "You?"  
  
"Well," he smiled at her even as he leaned closer to her once again. "If you   
put it this way, who am I to resist?" he teased her.  
  
"Exactly," she half-whispered sensually before wrapping her legs around his   
hips. *Besides, we have to test your arm a little more,* she sent teasingly   
through the Force.  
  
*Anything to reassure you, my love,* in sent in kind as he left her lips to   
lavish her neck.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Hours later, they sat on a large balcony while sharing their first home-made   
breakfast ever. Mara had insisted to prove to him that she had learnt to cook,   
and Luke, who hadn't used a droid in a while now, had been glad to assist her.  
  
"So," she finally asked him, abandoning her silent study of his beautiful eyes,   
"you work in the Senate now?"  
  
"I watch over the Senate, but I am not paid for this. I don't need it."  
  
"I understand, but it still keeps you busy day after day," she pointed out   
seriously.  
  
"Yes," he sighed slightly then took another bite of his meal.  
  
"I think I'm detecting unhappiness," she commented in the silence.  
  
Luke threw her a patient gaze from under his eyelashes, then dropped his serious   
stance and leaned back in his cushioned chair.  
  
"It overwhelms me," he admitted glumly. "It is a huge responsibility, and the   
minds of the politicians are much more complex than anything I've ever   
encountered. Even if I only probe the currents of their thoughts instead of   
their minds, they are still twisted enough to make me fear that I have knots in   
my own mind at the end of each day. Sometimes, I feel like I do," he finished   
forlornly.  
  
While Mara had never read minds for lack of power, she knew that it was a   
demanding task for the prober's mind because of the complexity of the target.  
  
"If only I could help you," she commented earnestly in the silence.  
  
At first, only silence answered her, then Luke's chair creaked as he leaned back   
to a more upright position.  
  
"Perhaps you can, Mara," he told her seriously.  
  
"What?" she gaped at him, "Luke, I'm sorry to break this to you, but I am merely   
sensitive to the Force. I can't use it like---"  
  
She felt silent when her boyfriend shook his head.  
  
"I think you are more powerful than we were led to think, my love," he   
commented. "Do you remember the incidents on Ord Mantell?"  
  
"Y... yes," she answered, suddenly hesitant.  
  
She now knew how dangerously close to the Dark Side she had been on that planet.   
Even more than under the Emperor's service, she had been falling head first into   
the dark vortex that was the Dark Side of the Force. Fortunately for her,   
events had then happened and had saved her from ruining her life.  
  
"It's just a feeling," her boyfriend hurried to inform her, "but... what if the   
Emperor had restrained your true potential from showing while he was alive...   
and that you could now become a full-fledged Jedi Knight?"  
  
For a long moment, Mara gaped openly at her boyfriend, unable to believe what he   
had just suggested.  
  
"Huh," he commented, as if coming back on his words, "that is if you are   
interested to become one of course. I wouldn't push any---"  
  
She took hold of his hand and shook her head.  
  
"It's all right Luke, you're not upsetting me. I... I just have difficulty to   
believe in this possibility; I tried so hard so many times..." she told him   
sincerely, almost sadly.  
  
"Yet you were so powerful for a while that I could feel the effects of your   
influence on the Force," he pointed out seriously.  
  
She shook her head in defeat.  
  
"That was probably just the Dark Side, Luke."  
  
"If it were," her lover countered, "then you have the same strength for the   
Light side; both sides are equal in power. The difference is how you use the   
power, nothing else."  
  
Unable to find an argument to this, she gazed at her companion for several   
seconds. He was serious about this, she reflected uncertainly. He had a   
feeling, and he believed it to be true.  
  
"Do you really think it could be this simple?" she asked him uncertainly.  
  
Luke smiled at her.  
  
"Only one way to find out," he commented, then stood up and began to gather his   
plate and cup.  
  
Wondering what he had in mind, she followed suite.  
  
  
  
TBC in part 10: A Whole new Life 


	45. A Whole New Life 10: A Whole New Life

A Whole New Life  
Part 10: A whole New Life  
By SJ 12-23-01/16-04-02 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
  
  
  
After clearing away their dishes, Luke guided Mara to the newly furbished   
training room.  
  
She vaguely remembered its being used as a guest room, but as he had told her on   
their way in, he hadn't needed all those rooms for himself and his father, so   
aside from the computer rooms and their private library, the rest of the floor   
had been adapted to the fact that they wouldn't have access to the rest of the   
palace.  
  
He had also told her that he had meant to call the new building the Peace   
Palace, but Skywalker Castle had been stuck to it by the populace and it hadn't   
changed since then.  
  
"As long as it isn't Vader," he told her while he drew his lightsaber from his   
belt.  
  
"Yeah," she nodded, then nodded at his deactivated weapon. "Why weren't you   
armed with it yesterday?" she asked him while she too drew her weapon, then set   
it on the floor for her warm up.  
  
Luke mimicked her.  
  
"No weapons are allowed in the Senate building," he explained simply. "I also   
abide by that rule."  
  
"But what about the danger of being defenseless, farmboy?" she inquired from her   
bent-over position.  
  
Her back complained slightly at the stretch, but not too much; just a little   
more frequent work-out, she reflected seriously, and she would be back in shape.  
  
"Security is outside," he shrugged slightly. "Besides, a Jedi doesn't need   
weapons to be armed," he reminded her seriously.  
  
"Except that you didn't last for long against the thugs yesterday," she pointed   
out with a note of reproach in her voice.  
  
"I know," he admitted while stretching his left arm with his right one. "I   
might have to revise that rule, but not until we have the trust of the senators   
and the rest of the galaxy."  
  
"It's a dangerous gamble," she told him seriously.  
  
"No more so than to hide from you-know-who," he answered much more coolly.  
  
They gazed at each other in understanding at that; he was right, she conceded.   
If he could survive as a Jedi under the Emperor's watchful eye, then he could   
survive unarmed in a pacific senate.  
  
"Let me guess," she finally tried to joke to dispel the darker mood of the   
moment, "your mind was somewhere else yesterday," she commented, calling her   
weapon back to her hand   
  
"Something like that," he agreed, recovering his lighter mood, then turned on   
his own weapon.  
  
She did the same; they fell silent, ready for a fight to test her abilities.  
Unlike Luke who had had an extensive training in lightsaber fencing, she herself   
had only learnt to use it against regular beings. She surmised that after their   
fencing, they would know for sure if it had been a fluke on Ord Mantell... Or if   
her destiny was now following Luke's.  
  
She and Luke glanced at each other a little while longer--- then he attacked,   
faster than light. To her surprise, she parried his first attack, then swiveled   
on her hips and blocked his side sweep. Luke briefly smiled at her at that,   
then fell serious again and resumed his attack.  
  
  
  
  
When Mara parried two feints in a row, Luke knew that his feelings had been   
right. His friend's potential had been somehow blocked by the Emperor, but she   
was now free from him... and on her way to become a true Jedi knight, he thought   
in awe.  
  
Even without specific training, she knew how to follow the Force's guidance;   
combined with her basic knowledge of lightsaber techniques, she could keep him   
at bay for as long as she wanted.  
  
Well, almost as long as she wanted, he smiled in challenge and upped the level   
of difficulty. Aware of this, Mara smirked at him, shaking hair out of her   
beautiful eyes.   
  
"Getting cocky, Skywalker?" she teased him.  
  
"No more than you are, Jade," he teased back even as he shifted his stance   
again, forcing her to remain on the defensive.  
  
But Mara was not satisfied with this anymore. She too switched to the   
offensive... Now challenging him in turn. It slowly dawned on Luke that this   
could be a long, windy afternoon with his girlfriend... and future Jedi if she   
wanted to follow that path.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Far away from all those events and Coruscant, Anakin and Yoda suddenly exited   
their common healing trance as they felt the existence of a new, powerful Force   
bearer.  
  
"Who can it be?" Ani instantly asked as he re-entered his full senses.  
  
"A woman it felt," his friend answered, keeping his eyes closed to search   
further... "with your son," he added seriously.  
  
With Luke?, Ani frowned uncertainly. Why would his son be with another Jedi---   
unless---- he suddenly understood, searching the eyes of his companion.  
  
"Mara Jade?" he half-whispered in doubt even though he 'knew' that he had his   
answer.  
  
Mara Jade had returned to his son's side, he realized, and like both Luke and   
himself, she had foregone the Dark Side.  
  
"But how can it be?" he asked in the silence. "She was not powerful when the   
Emperor was alive; surely he wouldn't have restrained her potential had she had   
any," he reflected seriously.  
  
"Surprised we may be," Yoda commented softly, exiting his trance. "but Mara   
Jade it is indeed."  
  
"Incredible," the human answered in awe.   
  
"That much so, Anakin?" the aged master inquired with a note of dry humor.  
  
The not-so-young man felt himself blush slightly even as he brought a hand to   
his newly grown hair, one of the several signs that the Force had granted a   
miracle to him too. Except for his still healing lungs, he had completely   
recovered from his hold injuries, and soon, he knew that he wouldn't even need   
his respirator anymore.  
  
He was already free of the mask.  
  
"When put that way, Master Yoda," he smiled gently, "it's not surprising at   
all."  
  
"Already trained she is," Yoda observed quietly. "Only practice she needs to   
develop her potential."  
  
"The Emperor must have been afraid of her power," the younger Jedi summarized   
with a nod of his head, "In fact," he added as he returned in the past, with   
memories of his young son, "it wouldn't surprise me if he had also kept Luke   
from his true abilities had he met him any other way but how it happened."  
  
"Trained he was already," Yoda agreed, "hard it is to stop a Jedi's growth when   
begun it has."  
  
"Especially Luke's," he nodded solemnly, remembering how his son's ability had   
strengthened by leaps and bounds when he had begun to train more seriously.   
  
"The most powerful Jedi of all time he is," his companion commented in the   
silence. "Fortunate he was to have a good father," he finished more softly.  
  
"A father who knew how to control that power," Ani nodded in acceptance.   
  
He himself had faced the challenges of growing to a surprising source of power   
within him; unlike his son, it had taken him a long while to understand how   
self-control served him better than to let the power loose then and again.   
It had made Vader even more dangerous when he had turned, especially for   
himself... Hence, he had drilled his son to control himself... and they were now   
experiencing the positive effects of that self-control.  
  
"Everything is fine now," he summarized seriously.  
  
"Almost everything," Yoda corrected with a raised finger.  
  
Anakin nodded knowingly, aware that what remained between himself and his   
complete healing was more mental than physical. Even though he had finally   
forgiven himself for his past as Vader... he still couldn't completely forgive   
himself for turning in the first place, thus causing grief to his whole family.  
He knew that in the end, his negative experience had been necessary for their   
victory, but how certain were they that he and the Jedis wouldn't have defeated   
Palpatine back then?   
  
After all, he thought seriously, they had been more than enough to destroy him   
like he and Luke had done, years later... alone. He sighed heavily while he   
faced that last self-condemning thought.  
  
In front of him, Yoda silently waited for him to be ready to resume their   
trance.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
While Luke and Mara awaited for both the Chairman and President's decision in   
regards of Mara's help with security, he watched his girlfriend as she practiced   
her newly discovered abilities.  
  
Her green eyes were half-closed, her breath was even; she was mesmerizing.  
Careful to not disturb her, he slightly tightened his hold on her hand,   
reflecting that she was more than worthy to be a full-fledged Jedi if she wanted   
too. It had always disturbed him that she hadn't been able to do everything   
that he could do with the Force; it had even saddened him whenever he had   
noticed her disappointed expression, no matter how hard she had been trying to   
hide it from him, he conceded with a slight smile.  
  
He conceded that they were more than equals when it came to physical challenges   
though; they had trained against one another often enough to lose count of their   
frequent stalemates, but if he used his full abilities against her... she didn't   
know how to block him or duplicate his tactics. She hadn't had access to the   
deeper connection that she could have achieved, even back then.  
  
But no more, he reminded himself seriously. With their little test, they had   
established that a block had definitely been lifted from her mind and that she   
now had as deep an access as she wanted on the Force.  
  
Now, he reflected, all she had to learn was how to focus her mind to make use of   
those abilities. He felt her strain to maintain her touch--- then she sighed   
and recovered a normal state.  
  
"What happened?" he asked her gently.  
  
"I found a mental track which felt nervous, but I lost it when it entered a more   
crowded corridor."  
  
"Did you feel any danger?" he inquired.  
  
"No," she shook her head, "it was just an easier exercise than to follow a quiet   
mind," she nudged him slightly.  
  
"I see," he smiled at her, "Did you try to search for differences instead of   
being submerged by the crowd?" he inquired seriously.  
  
"huh... no," she admitted with a shake of her head. "When he disappeared in the   
crowd, I stopped feeling him altogether."  
  
"Look for differences in your feelings," he advised her. "That's how you'll   
keep track of what you felt."  
  
The door of the chairman's office opened; Luke and Mara exchanged a glance, then   
left their observation window and went inside. They accepted the seats offered   
to them by the president, then silently waited for the verdict.  
  
"We have studied your request very careful, Jedi Jade, Jedi Skywalker," the   
president, an Elom, began seriously. "However, we need more information before   
we can make a decision."  
  
"Which information?" Mara inquired, crossing her right leg over her left.  
  
"Except for Jedi Skywalker's trust in you, we don't know anything about who you   
are, how you came to be a Jedi... and why you didn't fight against the Empire   
during the war," he finished, locking his black gaze with Mara's green one.  
  
Luke threw a quick glance at his girlfriend even as he exchanged a quick thought   
of reassurance.  
  
"I vouch for Mara's trustworthiness, Mr. President," he began earnestly. "I   
have known her for a while now and can assure you that you won't find a   
staunchest ally in our common goal of peace and justice."  
  
The Chairman, a Duro, sadly shook his head. "I'm afraid it won't be enough for   
the rest of the Senate. Just like you studied every candidate's background, so   
must we do for your companion... even if we won't involve the rest of the senate   
in the procedures," he commented compassionately.  
  
  
  
  
Mara couldn't help but wince at the thought that the whole senate might have to   
vote on her helping Luke or not. Now there would be a real waste of time...  
  
"You said that you've known Miss Jade for a while," the Elom commented in the   
silence. "Since when exactly?"  
  
Mara sought Luke's eyes once again, shook her head at his thought to cover her   
imperial past. She wasn't afraid of the truth anymore; she could live with the   
consequences of her actions, just like he had.  
  
"I met Luke when we were children," she admitted seriously, then bowed her head   
as the others decrypted the secret of her past.  
  
She waited for their reactions. Luke remained silent but took hold of her hand   
in comfort and support. She returned his warm hold.  
  
"Were you with the Empire?" the Duro inquired uselessly.  
  
"Yes, and like Luke, I didn't know what kind of monster I was serving until,   
well... almost too late," she admitted, throwing an apologetic gaze at her   
boyfriend.  
  
"How can we be sure that you aren't trying to infiltrate the senate to avenge   
the Empire's destruction? What proof can you give us?" the president asked very   
seriously.  
  
At first, the young woman meant to answer that they would have to trust Luke for   
that one, then a memory of her young friends came back to her.  
  
"You can contact the 50th hospital of Capara, refugee unit, and ask to any child   
there what he thinks of me," she answered simply. "If not for my relationship   
with Luke, I would still be with them," she added for good measures.  
  
She noticed how the two politicians exchanged a knowing glance, then nodded more   
somberly. The president focused back on Luke.  
  
"We know that you are a man of your word and heart, Jedi Skywalker," he   
commented seriously, "and we also know that your judgment can be trusted,   
especially when it comes to the safety of everyone. Hence, we will also trust   
Jedi Jade, but should anything happen, it will be on your shoulders."  
  
Mara had to refrain her temptation to glare at the other in disappointment, but   
Luke's squeeze helped her to not show any aggression.  
  
*I trusted you with my life more times than I can count, Mara,* he sent her   
warmly, *I can certainly trust my political life in your hands,* he finished   
more wryly.  
  
*Well,* she sent in kind, *I can always take you out of it if you give me the   
green light.*  
  
*Don't tempt me,* he answered, physically biting his lower lip to restrain an   
inappropriate smile. "Thank you, Mr. President, Chairman Tuko," he answered out   
loud, standing up and offering his hand for a shake.   
  
"You won't regret it," Mara added earnestly, following suite, then the two Jedi   
Knights left the plush office.  
  
Together, they had vanquished one more challenge.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
The same evening, Mara stood on their room's balcony, enjoying the soft breeze   
that caressed her sleep-gowned body while Luke was taking a quick shower; she   
had felt too tired to join him.  
  
After their meeting with the president and chairman, they had spent the rest of   
the day practicing her sensing skills in Luke's office. As it used to happen   
when she had been a child, using the Force this intently had practically drained   
her.  
  
However, she reflected, closing her eyes to enjoy the moment of quietness, it   
was a good tiredness. For once, she felt at peace with herself and the   
universe, and she hadn't hurt anybody with her skills. Instead, she had trained   
herself to feel only the effects of their thoughts on the Force instead of their   
thoughts themselves.  
  
It wasn't as easy as Luke made it look, she conceded humbly, but she had   
improved a great deal today. She was confident that she would be able to do a   
good job in the Senate, not necessarily because the politicians would know if   
she did it wrong or not... but, she admitted, she wanted to do it right for   
herself.  
  
She knew that reading minds wasn't ethical.  
  
She yawned slightly as she opened her eyes; in front of her, the vista of   
Capitol City stretched as far as she could see. Unlike when she had gazed at it   
during the Empire's rule, it seemed quieter, less animated than usually.  
  
Of course, she conceded as she pushed her hair out of her eyes, allowing the   
wind to pull them to the right, she was aware that people in the city were still   
going out in the night clubs, or that some others were working on the nightly   
shifts, but somehow, she thought wistfully, their activities weren't stirring   
the night sight as it used to be.  
  
Unless, she smiled to herself, wrapping her bare arms around her lightly covered   
body, the calm was in her mind. After all, she wasn't keeping an eye out for an   
enemy or ally at the moment; sighing happily, she conceded that it was a more   
than welcome change.  
  
As if to remind her of the past, her index found one of her scars from the past;   
almost instantly, an image of how she had gotten it flashed in her mind. She   
shut her eyes at the violence of the memory, then took a deep breath to calm   
herself. She had killed that man, she remembered, had not shown any mercy...   
but had she had the choice, she thought sadly, she wouldn't have even hunted him   
down. She knew now that she didn't like violence, yet at the same time, she was   
very glad to be able to protect the ones she cared about.  
  
Had he truly been guilty of the crimes he had been accused of, she wondered   
about her victim, or had she been a mindless slave yet again?..  
  
"I guess we will never know," Luke's soft voice startled her from her reverie,   
then his strong arms enveloped her in the remaining warmth of his recent shower.   
  
She accepted his comfort and leaned into his embrace; he kissed the juncture of   
her neck and shoulder. "We can only make sure that no more innocents ever   
perish unjustly again," he commented in the silence.  
  
Mara remained silent, then leaned even more against his welcome support.  
  
"Do you sometimes think about our victims?" she asked him glumly, keeping her   
eyes forward on the sight of thousands lights at night.  
  
"Every morning," he nodded against her neck.   
  
"And?" she prompted him slightly.  
  
"I wish I could give my life in exchange for theirs," he answered truthfully,   
"and every morning, I learn again that I can't, so instead, I devote every day   
to those who survived the nightmare and I make sure that another one isn't   
getting started for them."  
  
"It reminds me of how I felt about the children," she commented as she brought   
her right hand out from under his embrace to touch his nearby hand.  
  
Her finger encountered another scar; his slave mark on his wrist.  
  
"I would have thought that you had gotten rid of this one," she told him   
seriously, craning her neck to see his eyes.  
  
"No more so than you mean to have your own mark removed, Mara," he answered   
seriously, his left hand shifting slightly until it rested where she had been   
hurt as a child, near her collarbone. "Besides," he added glumly, "the tattoo   
will never go away anyway, and the galaxy needs me. I can't waste time in   
pointless surgical operations."  
  
"Hmmm, I suppose you'd know about that," she nodded slightly, dimly remembering   
that he had been through three weeks of preparation before his Rebel mission,   
only to have the marks back even before the end of the mission, she sighed   
glumly.  
  
If only they had awakened sooner...  
  
  
  
Luke held his lover against himself; her soft hair and silk gown were caressing   
his bare chest, but nothing compared to her familiar body in his arms. It still   
felt like a miracle to have her back, he thought in contentment; when she had   
left, he had been convinced that he would never see her again, but he had   
underestimated her love for him. It had been proven to be as strong as his was   
for her; he himself knew that more than anything else, his love for Mara had   
given him the strength to go through his masquerade at the end.  
  
"And you?" he asked while kissing her behind the left ear, "why don't you want   
to have it removed?"  
  
"I never said---" she began with slight defiance, but the moment that their eyes   
met, she softened once again.   
  
She knew that he knew her as much as she knew him; they couldn't hide anything   
from one another for long.  
  
"It wouldn't be right," she finally admitted, focusing back on the vista that   
was sprawled in front of them. "After what I did, aware of the larger picture   
or not, it's only fair that I bear for the rest of my life the mark of who I   
was."  
  
"Ditto here," he agreed with her, then gently let go of her and turned her   
toward him; she followed his lead and shifted position until she was facing him.   
  
"However, Mara, I won't let you carry any other mark, either psychological,   
emotional, or spiritual," he told her seriously. "I love you for who you are,   
past and present alike, but only the present matters now," he finished   
earnestly.  
  
His lover meant to retort something, but he didn't let her.  
  
Instead, he covered her lips with his own, then proceeded to tell her with that   
part of his body how much she meant for him no matter what had or would happen.  
When Mara returned his kiss and drew him closer to her, he reflected that he had   
never felt this whole, this content in life.  
  
Nothing else but her truly mattered to him...  
  
*Will you marry me?* he sent on impulse--- then drew away in shock as he became   
aware of what he had just done.  
  
What??, he berated himself for a naive fool. He hadn't meant to do that right   
now... She was barely back with him, and they were both still reeling from the   
past. He nervously gazed at her, worried beyond belief that he had just ruined   
it with his impetuousness.  
  
  
  
Mara could only gape at her lover while his mental words and feelings continued   
to ring in her mind.  
  
Marry? He had truly asked her to marry him? For a Jedi, she knew that it was   
the most serious of commitments since it was a life-to-death thing; once they   
would be married, he wouldn't be able to change his mind and break their   
wedding. Only death ordained by the Force could do that, and yet, he still   
wanted to marry her; despite her fiery temper and her near success to kill him   
thanks to her anger...  
  
"I..." she managed to whisper.  
  
"Mara, I'm sorry," he began apologetically, "I don't know what overtook me, I--"  
  
Smiling slightly at his discomfiture, she stepped forward again until she was   
pressed up against him, then gently shushed him with her index.  
  
"Don't worry, Luke," she reassured him softly, "I'm not upset, and yes, I will   
marry you, my dear farmboy," she finished lustfully before she resumed their   
kiss where they had left off.  
  
She instantly felt his elation invade her senses as it poured from him and into   
their link, then he suddenly lifted her off the floor and spun her around while   
smiling happily against her lips.  
  
"Luke?!" she finally laughed with him when he continued to spin with her in his   
arms.   
  
"You just made me the happiest man in the galaxy, Mara," he smiled back, then   
put her back on the ground and kissed her again while hugging her as close to   
himself as he could. *I promise you won't regret it,* he sent her earnestly and   
passionately.  
  
*I know, but you might,* she sent back lustfully with an image of what she had   
in mind for the second step of their little celebration.  
  
He blushed at her idea, but didn't show any sign of not agreeing with her. They   
retreated back inside their room, then closed the door and darkened the window   
panes.  
  
  
  
******  
  
The next day, Luke contacted the head of the Senate and told them that he and   
Mara would be gone for two weeks on a personal matter. When they would return,   
he agreed with them, they would introduce Mara to the other senators, but not   
before they were back from their trip.  
  
If the politicians felt any worry regarding the leaving of their Jedi protector,   
they didn't say anything to him. Instead, they agreed with his request and   
wished him success.  
  
  
  
  
Three hours later, Luke and Mara boarded the long-range shuttle which Mara had   
brought back with her; they left Coruscant and headed for... the location of the   
Freedom.  
  
When they had discussed their wishes for their wedding ceremony, both had   
quickly established that it would be a very private thing since neither of them   
had any family to include in their private celebration. Even Luke's father was   
considered out of reach since they couldn't, in fact, contact him in any way.  
  
Hence, that only left them with the choice of someone to perform the ceremony.   
Any magistrate was out of question, as was the president of the Senate...  
  
Hence, it left them with only one option that Luke knew he could trust: admiral   
Piett, the 'captain' of Luke's ex-flagship.   
  
  
  
  
Their shuttle landed with little decorum; however, even though Luke wanted to   
keep his presence aboard semi-secret, a platoon or two of proud volunteers were   
already gathered in two rows to welcome him aboard.  
  
"It proves their genuine respect for you, farmboy," his companion told him,   
nudging him in the biceps as he sighed in reluctant acceptance.  
  
"I suppose so," he sighed again, then stood to his feet.  
  
Mara was already waiting for him to exit their ship. She was the first one down   
the small hatch, then he joined her and was met by Admiral Piett and a few other   
officers. They respectfully bowed their heads, then snapped to either attention   
or salute. Luke refrained himself from sighing again; he had to accept that the   
decorum would never go away, he admitted reluctantly. Even if they weren't at   
war anymore, the troops needed some kind of ritual to express their allegiance.  
  
"Welcome back, Jedi Skywalker, Lady Jade," Piett said seriously.   
  
"Thank you, Admiral," they both answered together. "We need your assistance on   
a peculiar request, Sir," Luke continued seriously, pointedly avoiding details   
about their eloping; he didn't want it to become the gossip of the ship, then   
the fleet.  
  
Also, he reminded himself with a mental smirk, neither he nor Mara wanted their   
union to be known until they could surprise a few young friends of hers.  
  
"It shall be my pleasure, Sir. Come," the older man invited them, then turned   
away and led the way toward the exit of the hangar bay.  
  
"How is the fleet now that it is under the control of the Senate, Admiral?" Mara   
asked from Luke's side.  
  
The young Jedi noticed the gaze that Piett threw at the normally silent woman,   
then how he briefly sought his eyes for reassurance. Luke nodded visibly to   
indicate that Mara could be trusted despite what he remembered of her.  
  
"The assignments are pertinent, my Lady," the older man finally answered, "and   
the volunteers are more than happy to assist in any way they can help."  
  
"What about the outlaw elements? Are they still quiet?" Luke inquired   
seriously.  
  
"Very much so, Sir," the officer nodded with a smirk.  
  
They reached the banks of turbolifts.  
  
  
  
  
  
They finally entered Luke's old quarters. Mara instantly noticed the   
unmistakable changes which had been performed on the design. Except for the   
tactical station, which hadn't moved, the rest could have belonged to a rich   
trader and she would never have made any difference.  
  
Where the room had been darker than night, it was now filled with wooden colors   
and the metallic deck had been covered by a light-tainted carpet.  
  
*Is it like this in the rest of the quarters?* she sent to her lover.  
  
He barely nodded in answer.  
  
"I must admit that the return of Lady Jade is quite a surprise, Sir," Piett   
commented honestly when no word came from them. "I thought that she had   
disappeared with the escapees when you overtook the Empire."  
  
"In a way, she did," Luke nodded while he took hold of her hand; she drew closer   
to him, instantly understanding that he meant to reveal their relationship to   
his ex-right arm. "However, Mara was not a concubine like we led everyone to   
believe," he continued seriously. "She was my partner, my best friend... and my   
lover."  
  
Piett, who had relaxed the moment that they had entered the private quarters,   
suddenly gaped openly at the two of them.   
  
"I met Luke when we were children," the young woman continued softly to help the   
man to get over his reaction. "We were trained together and worked as a team   
until he left for the rebel mission, which I'm sure you heard about."  
  
"Y... Yes, I did," the stumped man nodded jerkily. "So while you were aboard as   
his consort, you were in fact spending time off together until your next   
mission," the admiral finally managed in one breath.  
  
Mara had to admit that she was surprised by the speed with which the other had   
put together the pieces of their puzzle. Luke had told her that he was clever,   
but she had never suspected that he would be 'that' fast.   
  
"Exactly," Luke nodded. "After the victory, we went our separate ways for   
personal reasons, but now we're ready to go forward again... and we want to   
spend the rest of our lives with one another," he explained solemnly.   
  
"Sir??" the other gaped again, both of his eyebrows shooting upward when he   
understood what his superior meant.  
  
"Would you do us the honor of sealing our union, Admiral?" Mara inquired kindly   
from Luke's side.  
  
"I... ah... with pleasure of course," he finally blurted out. "Never thought   
I'd do this one day though," he added before he could realize what he had just   
said.  
  
Both Luke and her chuckled at this.  
  
"Neither did we," she commented lightly.   
  
"Will it require anything special given your Jedi training, Sir?" he asked,   
focusing back on Luke.  
  
"We will take care of this part of the Jedi wedding, my friend," he reassured   
him. "However, we need an officer to make this official."  
  
"When do you want to do this, Sir?"  
  
"Right now?" both she and Luke asked, eagerness creeping back in their voices.  
  
Piett gaped at them once again, then shook his head and smiled in almost   
fatherly love.  
  
"Very well, but not here," he warned them seriously.  
  
She and Luke exchanged a thought at that; what did he have in mind?..  
  
  
  
  
An hour later, the Freedom was orbiting the blue orb of Iego, providing them   
with a beautiful background through the bay window of Luke's former living room.  
He and Mara stood facing each other, their hands joined with the others.  
  
"Luke Skywalker, Mara Jade," Piett began solemnly, gazing at each betrothed in   
turn, "you have come here to vouch your undying love and devotion to one   
another, proving to the whole galaxy that nothing would ever separate you, no   
matter the sacrifices or the choices."  
  
Luke and Mara nodded solemnly, their eyes seeking the other's to share their   
moment of deep happiness.  
  
"Are you certain of your decision for it will be undoable in your cases," Piett   
asked them, dropping his role of officer for a second.  
  
"Yes, we are," the young people answered softly, honestly.  
  
"Then, for the better and the worse, you can exchange your vows."  
  
Unlike the regular weddings, which involved a wedding band to remind the beings   
of their vows to one another, Jedi weddings relied on an invisible bond.  
  
When Piett nodded at Luke, the young man locked his gaze with his lover, then   
they both closed their eyes and sought each other's mind. They found each other   
almost instantly.  
  
*Are you absolutely sure about this, Mara?* he inquired warmly before initiating   
their final bond.  
  
*With all my heart,* she answered softly. *How about you, Luke?*  
  
*Nothing will ever take prescience over my love, my attachment and my respect   
for you, my love,* he replied passionately.  
  
She answered by opening her mind to him even as she waited at the edge of his   
own mind for his final, natural barrier to disappear forever. Luke broke it   
down without any doubts nor hesitation; he and Mara's senses joined in the most   
complete fashion that was possible.  
  
He became her; she became him, then they reintegrated their own bodies while   
taking the other with them. Even more than when they had been mere lovers, they   
were one in every sense of the word.  
  
They simultaneously opened their eyes, and smiled at each other.  
  
"You are now husband and wife," their companion smiled at them, then commented   
with a wry smirk: "I think you know the rest."  
  
Luke didn't need more incentive; he took a step closer and drew Mara closer   
until they could kiss with all their love.  
  
*I love you, Luke Skywalker,* she sent him while they shared their feelings of   
happiness, fulfillment and utter bliss.  
  
As they both rejoiced in their wonderful union and love, the only shadow that   
briefly crossed Luke's mind was that his father hadn't been present for this   
unique, most beautiful day...  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
On Dagobah, Anakin was enjoying his first free breaths in almost twenty years.   
  
Once he had finally made complete peace with himself, his lungs had welcome the   
healing trance and his breathing apparatus had become useless to him. However,   
given the complexity of the device in his body, it had taken all of his and   
Yoda's powers to remove it while not killing him in the process... and now, he   
truly was alive and free.  
  
Dagobah's air was tangy, filled with subtle tinges of humidity, wet vegetation   
and muddy ground. Ani reflected wryly that it was the most wonderful smell that   
he had experienced in way, way too long. He was so content to just breathe   
freely that he sat down for hours near the lake that not far from Yoda's hut,   
just taking deep breaths and enjoying every new tinge of difference that he   
detected.  
  
He didn't care about the muddy ground, which had already soaked him wet in the   
rear, nor about his dirty hands and the fact that he looked less than himself in   
his soiled mechanic coverall.  
  
His nightmare had truly ended now, and a new dream was free to begin.  
  
However, he wondered, hours later, what would his dream be? He wanted to return   
to his son, but he knew only all too well that other than contacting him, which   
he wasn't sure he could do given the distance between them, he was still   
stranded on Dagobah.   
  
How he wanted to see Luke again though, he thought earnestly. During his   
meditations, he had caught sight of some visions which 'could' correspond to   
what had happened to his son ever since he had left him, but he couldn't be   
sure. He also hoped that some of the challenges that he had seen hadn't been   
true for Luke; he deserved better.  
  
What was he doing this very moment?, he wondered dreamily while he tried to   
pierce the distance and see his son. Was he happy? Had he managed to establish   
the fair government that they had wanted to oversee? Or had things gone wrong   
and it was still war in the universe?  
  
He surmised that he had probably been successful since the Force's current was   
quiet nowadays, no longer stirred by flashes of violence and pain.  
  
He took another deep breath of moist air, then let it out slowly. Yes, he   
sighed happily, everything seemed to be all right... as far as he could tell   
anyway. If only he could contact him, he thought more glumly, then tried again   
to establish contact, but like what he had noticed throughout the past months,   
his link with his son had dwindled in strength until he now only knew that he   
was alive.   
  
He couldn't even estimate how he felt anymore.  
  
"Luke is all right, Father," a long-heard voice suddenly commented from his   
left; he gazed sideways just in time to witness the apparition of his daughter.  
  
"Leia?" he gaped, sitting more upright while her shimmering image sat down to be   
at eye level with him.  
  
"How are you Father?" she asked diligently.  
  
"I thought I'd never see you again," he answered earnestly, moving closer to   
her.  
  
"The fight against Palpatine's veil on Luke drained me dangerously," she   
informed him softly. "This might be the last time that I will be able to see   
you... or Luke."  
  
"You saw Luke?" he asked her instantly, his eyes shining brightly with interest.   
"How is he? What happened to him? Does he hold a grudge against me for leaving   
when I did?"  
  
"No to the last question," she reassured him, "and as for what happened, look in   
my eyes, Anakin," she invited him.  
  
At first, Ani wondered what she meant, then he worked up his courage and gazed   
straight into her eyes.  
  
To his surprise and shock, he found himself transported somewhere else, away   
from Dagobah and this side to the universe... and aboard a spaceship orbiting a   
beautiful blue orb of a planet. He instantly recognized the two young people   
who were standing in front of the bay window; they seemed to be deeply   
concentrated on what was obviously a Force task---- then, they opened their eyes   
again. Ani felt a pang of regret as he watched his beloved son but couldn't   
touch him nor talk to him.  
  
"You are now husband and wife," a voice said from behind Anakin but he didn't   
know to whom it belonged.  
  
However, this was the least of his worry at the moment; husband and wife?.. He   
gaped in pleasant shock as he witnessed his son and Mara Jade's wedding kiss.   
Mara had returned to Luke and---- Their love had survived the trials, he smiled   
and sighed in happiness. Despite what he remembered of the young woman, she had   
returned to his son and they had made peace.  
  
The link suddenly broke just as the two youths smiled again against each other's   
lips, then they deepened their embrace; Anakin gasped as he reintegrated his   
full senses. He couldn't help but whimper when he recognized the landscape of   
Dagobah.  
  
He refocused on Leia, only to see her smile softly before she disappeared,   
regret etched on her angelic face.  
  
"Drained she is," Yoda's compassionate voice commented from behind him, keeping   
him from calling out his daughter's name.  
  
"Will she be all right?" Ani asked, his eyes remaining on the spot where she had   
been sitting just in front of him.  
  
"With the Force she is, protected and safe," his friend reassured him while he   
walked closer to him. "Great efforts she deployed to contact you again."  
  
"But it was worth it," he answered, turning toward his companion with a soft   
smile.  
  
"Luke she showed you?" Yoda inquired knowingly.  
  
Ani could only nod, then grinned proudly. "He and Mara Jade got married."  
  
"Ah, their union I felt earlier," the old master nodded slowly.  
  
"Earlier?" Anakin asked incredulously. He had thought that what Leia had shown   
him was the past---  
  
"Brought me to you this feeling did," Yoda explained solemnly.  
  
So Luke and Mara's wedding had just taken place, he understood, then groaned   
inwardly. It also meant that they had probably faced problems for them to take   
this long to get back together.  
  
"A Jedi wedding they shared," Yoda continued seriously. "Together they will be   
bound forever."  
  
A Jedi wedding..., Ani reflected more seriously. They hadn't seen one of those   
in nearly a century... since a Jedi master had lost his companion and gone   
berserk before he had taken his own life out of insanity.  
  
Ani remembered that story very well; he knew that it was why the Jedi code had   
come to proscribe love in a Jedi's life. However, he himself had had a few,   
impassioned discussions with the old master since he had met him again... and   
Yoda had finally admitted that they had perhaps been a little too strict about   
that rule.  
  
"Luke and Mara's love has been put to test, as had their personalities," Anakin   
reassured the obviously worried alien. "The past won't repeat itself again."  
  
"Perhaps... the new hope they might even be," the aged master nodded in   
agreement. "Right all the wrongs they might with their love."  
  
Anakin smiled softly at that and rested his hand on his friend's small shoulder.  
  
"With those two, that wouldn't even surprise me, Master Yoda."  
  
"Especially if return to the son the father does," Yoda retorted seriously yet   
mischievously.  
  
For a moment, Ani wondered if Yoda was teasing him, then, he noticed the set of   
his eyes and understood that he had come up with an idea to return him home.  
He patiently yet eagerly waited for him to reveal what had crossed his mind.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
  
After their elope aboard the Freedom, Mara and Luke headed for Capara and Mara's   
young friends with whom she had a promise to keep. They spent the best time of   
their transit either deepening their already close relationship, or simply   
enjoying their time together without any worries that either of them would be   
called away against their common will.  
  
That, Mara reflected contentedly, was one definitely positive point for their   
new arrangments.  
  
  
  
  
A few days later, they were walking closer to the hospital that Mara knew almost   
as well as the Imperial palace. It was, she thought wistfully, yet one more   
proof that she had completely shed the darkness of her former life, replacing   
her knowledge of secret passages and hallways for the knowledge of every unit   
and tool that she needed to take good care of her young charges. She admitted   
that she was proud of having used Luke's memory tricks to this use; she had been   
able to save a few lives that way.  
  
Yup, she smiled unabashedly as she began to pick up on the senses of her young   
friends, life had never been this wonderful for either her or Luke. They were   
where they belonged now, and they could use their skills in a most profitable   
way for the people they were trying to help. By doing so, they had willing   
willingly created new bonds for themselves, but they both estimated that they   
could nor would never, ever compared to their former chains, and especially   
their own relationship, she thought wistfully as she sought Luke's hand with   
hers.  
  
Luke turned his head to meet her gaze; they both exchanged a silent thought.   
Unlike their forced servitude and the Emperor's attempt to turn their   
relationship into yet another tool, their love had always been freely chosen and   
had been kept alive by their unfathomable attachment to one another. True, they   
had been friends for almost all their lives, she conceded, but their   
relationship was more than a simple friendship which had grown into love.  
  
From the beginning, it had been respect, care, sharing, and negotiation of   
disagreements. It was, she smirked slightly, as if they had always been lovers   
and married.  
  
Luke, who had been studying the place where she had made peace with herself and   
him, noticed her expression. He perched an eyebrow even as his senses told her   
that he wondered what had just crossed her mind. She marveled once again at   
depth of their bond; Luke didn't even need to word his thoughts anymore for her   
to understand his message because their bond allowed her to understand him with   
a mere gaze, or a touch.  
  
*Nothing serious,* she reassured him with another smile.  
  
*As long as it makes you smile,* he answered warmly, then sent a wave of love to   
her. "You're beautiful when you smile."  
  
And gods knew that their former lives hadn't allowed her that kind of expression   
very often, she reflected more glumly.  
  
"So are you, farmboy," she answered with a peck on his cheek just before they   
reached the main door of the hospital.  
  
They went inside.  
  
  
  
  
Luke followed Mara as she led him toward the wing where her young proteges were   
gathered. When they had discussed their projects for their impromptu honeymoon,   
she had made him promise to stop by Capara and meet her 'children' as she had   
said.  
  
He had agreed of course, but he had never gotten close to understanding how much   
she had come to care about the little patients...  
  
Until now.  
  
The moment that they approached the dispatch board of the said wing, he felt her   
mood lighten even as an unaccustomed eagerness entered her senses. The nurses   
who were working at the station instantly recognized her; Luke watched quietly   
as his girlfriend hugged each nurse, be them human or non-human, then exchanged   
news with them.  
  
"Mara!" a young man's voice suddenly called from behind him.  
  
Luke turned around just in time to see the delighted features of a young human   
male.  
  
"Charl!" Mara smiled in return and went toward him.  
  
The two of them hugged, then the red-head pulled away and moved her hand in his   
direction; Luke took hold of it and stepped closer.  
  
"Where have you been? I was so sad when I heard about your leaving," the youth   
continued earnestly. "I hope everything is... all right," he finished with   
slight hesitation when he noticed Luke's presence.  
  
His wife exchanged a reassuring gaze with him, then turned back toward the rest   
of the group.  
  
"Charl, Sarah, Ahil, this is my husband, Luke," she told them with what felt   
like pride to Luke; he smiled inwardly at this, reflecting that he had never   
expected her to feel this way toward him; several other things, yes, but   
proud... that was a feeling he had always attached to his father up to now.  
  
His father...  
  
"Husband?" Ahil, a Tandroshan, gaped in surprise, drawing him back to the here   
and now. "You never told us that you had such a handsome man in your life," she   
teased her, then came forward and congratulated her friend once again before she   
offered her hand to him.  
  
"Congratulations, Luke. Do take good care of her," she smiled, nodding in   
Mara's direction.  
  
"I will," Luke reassured the woman, dimly wondering if she recognized him or   
not.  
  
He wasn't wearing his traditional black or blue and white, instead wearing a   
navy blue and light blue suit, and he didn't carry his lightsaber at his belt.  
Perhaps they couldn't believe that 'the' man from the vid was here with them, he   
conceded knowingly.  
  
The second woman took her turn to congratulate Mara and him, then it was the   
young man's turn.  
  
"Well, I'm glad that you returned to her," he commented seriously once he had   
hugged Mara. "Otherwise, she would still be sad."  
  
"Our reunion is a miracle," Luke nodded at the young, obviously heart-broken   
man. "I'm grateful we've found each other again."  
  
"It was only a matter of time," Mara added earnestly, sidling closer to him to   
press her arm against his, as if to send a message to the boy to let her go,   
Luke reflected dimly.  
  
"Well, congratulations again, Mara. I wish you to be happy, you deserve it,"   
the youth answered earnestly.  
  
"Thanks Charl," Mara nodded, then barely touched the boy's arm with her hand.   
"Don't worry," she began reassuringly, "I was not the last chance to cross your   
path," she comforted him.  
  
The youth nodded, then briefly shook Luke's hand before he excused himself and   
disappeared in the station behind the counter.  
  
"Ah, we told him to forget you," Ahil commented to them.  
  
Luke, who felt slightly distraught by this encounter, sought Mara's eyes for   
support. She tightened her hold on his hand and smiled gently at him.   
  
*Nothing serious, and nothing at all as far as I'm concerned, farmboy,* she sent   
him all the same.  
  
"He will get over it," she commented out loud to answer Ahil's comment.  
  
"Sure will. In the meantime," the other woman smiled, changing the subject, "I   
believe that some young friends of yours will be enchanted to see you again,"   
she finished knowingly.  
  
"Oh that, I believe they will," the third woman agreed, giving them visitor   
passes before they allowed them inside the restricted corridor.  
  
  
  
Once alone in the corridor, Luke took a moment to talk with his lover while they   
walked toward their destination.  
  
*Who was Charl?*  
  
*My helper with the youngsters,* she answered softly. *I knew that he was   
attracted to me, but I never gave him any sign that I was in return.*  
  
*Don't worry, I'm not even worried about this,* he reassured her honestly.   
*just surprised I guess,* he then admitted ruefully. *Besides, I can understand   
why he couldn't forget you,* he commented more lustfully.  
  
*Really, and why so, dear husband?* she asked with a raised eyebrow.  
  
*Who could not fall in love with you, my love?* he asked softly while sending a   
new sample of his deep feelings for her.  
  
*Hmmm, well, I'm glad that no woman felt a desire to grow close to you while I   
was away,* she retorted in kind. *Otherwise, I might have gotten jealous for   
one.*  
  
Luke chuckled at her wry humor, then tried to find his composure. They had   
reached the door of the playroom.  
  
  
  
Mara's nervousness had gone down throughout her discussion with Luke, but now   
that they had reached their destination, it was back with a revenge. Her heart   
was thudding in her ears while pulsating against her ribcage and she felt   
slightly lightheaded.  
  
Would she be able to go through this; leaving the children once had been hard   
enough... Why had she come back?, she dimly scolded herself.   
  
As if in answer to her thoughts, Luke gently squeezed her hand; right, that was   
why she had come back: to share this part of her months away with her lover.   
She wanted him to meet the children who were, in a way, responsible for her   
return with him.  
  
She stepped into range of the door's sensor; it slid open without any decorum   
nor any sound of alarm.  
  
At first, the children barely looked up to see who was coming in, then a   
strangled cry of surprise told her that someone had recognized her. Chandor was   
the first one to his feet; he ran toward her, barely avoiding tripping over one   
of his friends as he stepped over a toy, then held her tight around the hips   
while he pressed his bulbous head to her bosom.  
  
"Mara!!!!" the other children called enthusiastically as they too gathered   
around her.  
  
Soon, she was surrounded by a living wall of children, which had effectively   
separated her from Luke, but she didn't care.  
  
"I missed you too," she answered the children while she tried to return as many   
hugs as she could.   
  
  
  
  
"Are you coming back?" a young aqualish gurgled in basic.  
  
While Luke watched his lover as she explained to the injured children that she   
had only come for a visit, he marveled at the ease with which she established a   
link with all the children, as if she were their mother, he reflected in awe.   
It truly amazed him, especially since such a gift would never have been nurtured   
in their previous lives.  
  
Mara was a natural with children.  
  
"Who is he?" a small Talz inquired, pointing her finger at him.  
  
"Reminds me of someone," a young teenager reflected out loud.  
  
Mara, who had finally managed to disentangle herself from the human wave of   
children, exchanged a gaze with him.  
  
*Trust me,* she sent him.  
  
Luke nodded, surprised that she would feel the need to ask this from him.  
He had always trusted her, he wanted to tease her, would always do so.  
  
"Do you remember Princess Maya?" she asked the children while she invited him   
closer to her.  
  
"And how she returned to Lik?" a little girl squeaked happily.  
  
Lik?, Luke wondered with a slight frown. What had she told them?  
  
"Well," she smiled at him before refocusing on the children, "the princess   
returned to her lover... and we are now married," she smiled as she locked her   
gaze with Luke's slightly shocked eyes.   
  
What the??----   
  
"Children, this is my husband, Luke Skywalker," she announced proudly to their   
young audience.  
  
The way the children gaped wide-eyed at them, Luke knew that they knew who he   
was.  
  
"The... hero Jedi knight?" a boy asked although he knew the answer to his   
question.  
  
"And you really were the princess of the story?" another, older girl asked Mara.  
  
*I thought it reminded me of something," a Wookiee teenager growled while he   
smirked happily.  
  
"I promised to bring him here if I found him, didn't I?" Mara told them warmly.  
  
"Do you have any children?" yet another child inquired with stars of interest in   
her eyes.  
  
"Not yet," Luke smiled at her, then turned toward his mischievous lover. "The   
story isn't finished yet."  
  
"Look!" a young one ran up to them and gave them a pad. "I drew the end!"  
  
Luke and Mara both smiled as they saw their own faces, or what could be their   
own faces, in the guise of a princess and her hero. Before they could exchange   
even a feeling though, the children rushed them again, this time to share their   
happiness with them.  
  
*So you tell fairy tale stories now, Princess Maya?* he inquired playfully even   
as he tried to not be submerge under the waves of hugs that surrounded his hips.   
  
*And you're the hero you should always have been, 'Lik',* she returned even as   
she picked a child up in her arms.  
  
"Can you do magic tricks?" a child asked him, keeping him from retorting to   
Mara's comment.  
  
"Huh..." he hesitated, then threw a gaze at his lover. *What did you tell   
them?*  
  
*The best part of the truth,* she smiled, then nodded, "Go ahead, Luke. There   
won't be any problems."  
  
"Sure," he finally nodded, then while the children arranged themselves to see   
his tricks, sent to his lover: *you'll have to tell me that story someday.*  
  
*With pleasure, my love,* she smiled at him while she too sat down to watch him;   
two children instantly scooted over to sit on her lap, giving him one more proof   
that his lover belonged with those children.  
  
While he reluctantly began a demonstration of basic levitation skills and hiding   
skills, he promised himself to make sure that Mara wouldn't be separated again   
from her young friends. Even though he had gladly relinquished most of his   
powers to the Senate, he still had the ability to decide for minor changes...   
such as relocating a refugee hospital to a place where more adequate services   
would be available.  
  
Like Coruscant.  
  
Around him, the children cheered at the floating pad which had his and Mara's   
portraits on it.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
The weeks passed by the galaxy, slowly, peacefully.  
  
On Dagobah, Anakin barely saw time pass by him since he had found a most   
interesting way to busy himself: he was repairing Yoda's old ship.  
  
The engines were still badly rusted, and most of the electronics had needed a   
complete rewiring thanks to the unforgivable humidity of Dagobah, but with the   
help of everything that he had salvaged from his own ship way back when, and his   
own wizard skills of course, he was confident that he could get it back into   
flying shape.  
  
Even now, the electronic system was back on line. In spite of this though, he   
was realist and knew that he wouldn't obtain more than a short range ship, but   
it would be better than no ship at all.  
  
As he continued to fix the complex inner system of the left engine pod, he hoped   
that, once he would be done, he would have replaced enough parts to make a   
workable engine despite the rust. When he had built his racer on Tatooine, he   
reflected, he had had even less at his disposal than he did now, yet he had   
built the fastest pod ever.   
  
Surely he could do it again, he thought seriously. Back then, he remembered   
fondly, it had been for his angel, his future and unbeknown wife. Even though   
he had been too young to be in love with her, he had felt something about her,   
something different than what he had ever felt, even for his mother. It had   
been instantaneous, undying devotion and care for the beautiful handmaiden,   
later revealed as the true queen.   
  
He could still remember how happy he had been to go with her, then, when Obi-Wan   
had become his teacher, how sad he had felt to leave Naboo. Even without the   
Force and much maturity, he had known that she was meant to be in his life.  
It was just too bad that years later, he hadn't been wise enough to recognize   
his true treasure when he had recovered it.   
  
Power had blinded him back then, and instead of allowing him to fulfill his   
dreams, it had kept him from seeing the coming nightmare...  
  
But no more.  
  
He was awake now, and he knew how the nightmare began. He would never let it   
even form itself anymore; he knew now that the true power was love. When   
summarized, he thought seriously, Love was the only thing that had governed his   
life and deeply influenced it before salvaging it.  
  
His love for Padme had made him able of miracles, he reflected with   
determination, so would that actual project for his son, he resolved. He   
continued to sweat over the awfully complicated innards of the left engine.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
Months went by for the two newly wedded. Upon their return from their   
honeymoon, Mara was introduced to the whole Senate while Luke began to set   
events in motion regarding the transfer of the refugee unit.  
  
While they waited for it to be complete, Mara helped Luke to meditate the   
seating sessions, taking care of half of the room while he took care of the   
other one, then they changed division to double check the others' scan.   
  
Other than that, life went on with their new, peaceful routine of galactic   
duties, then Mara's work at the medcenter... and their own, ever growing love.  
  
  
  
That evening, when Mara came home, she didn't expect her husband to be there   
yet. He had told her that important meetings would take place until late in the   
evening and that his presence had been requested.   
  
Hence, she went directly in the bedroom to change clothes after another day at   
the palace's medical center; her young friends had been transferred there a few   
weeks ago, much to her, theirs, and even the medics pleasures, she reflected   
fondly. While the teams and equipment on Capara had sufficed for a few cases,   
they hadn't had the necessary installations to help impaired patients to learn   
how to be functional again, especially for children.  
  
Of course, she conceded, the new patients were no longer remaining victims of   
the Empire, only of accidents, but still needed all the help they could get to   
return to a more or less normal life. Hence, what had begun for her as a way to   
make up for her past mistakes had now become simple devotion to children who   
were going through difficult times.  
  
However, given the growing variety of the incidents that could bring children to   
her team, she herself had to return to school to be able to help them better;   
hence, she spent every three days in workshops and courses about children   
psychology.  
  
She loved the children and her work with them, perhaps not as much as Luke, she   
smiled ruefully on the way out of her room, but certainly much more than the   
Senate... and her old life of course, she added more grimly before shooing away   
her unpleasant thoughts.  
  
She went into the kitchen to make herself some kind of lunch. She tiredly   
walked toward the counter--- then noticed something strange in the adjoining   
dining room and walked backward until she could check what she had detected from   
the corner of her eyes.  
  
Candles had been lit on the table and the table was set for what looked like a   
promising meal. Unsure of what she had just seen, she stepped inside the room;   
the lights dimmed themselves a little more.  
  
"Happy anniversary, my love," her husband said from behind her, surprising her   
slightly.  
  
"Anniv--- but there's nothing special today," she frowned slightly, turning back   
toward him.  
  
"Ah, but there is," he smiled gently at her before kissing her lightly on the   
lips.  
  
*Hmmm, okay, I'm open to suggestions,* she sent while she deepened their   
embrace, all too happy to have him for herself for a whole evening.  
  
*Three months ago,* he began teasingly---  
  
*We got married,* she finished knowingly even as she slowly backed closer to the   
wall so that they would be able to stand as close as possible to one another.   
"But it's one day too early, Luke," she teased him.  
  
"It's never too early," he answered in kind before resuming their passionate   
embrace. *Every day I spend with you is a celebration; you make me the happiest   
man in the universe, Mara,* he sent with all his love.  
  
*And you make everything worthwhile, Luke,* she returned even as she began to   
explore under his shirt.   
  
*You know,* her husband sent even as he shivered under her cool hands, *dinner   
'is' ready if you're hungry.*  
  
"I'm not hungry for that kind of food," she whispered lustfully even as she   
moved her lips to his neck and proceeded to ravage it.  
  
"I'm not really hungry either," he gasped honestly even as he followed her   
incentive and began to open her clothes.  
  
"Good," she smiled against his flesh, then slowly backed him toward the table.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
The next morning, Luke was startled awake when his beloved wife suddenly bolted   
out of bed and ran to the adjoining fresher. There, she relieved her stomach,   
something which had never, ever happened to her. Worried, he forced himself   
awake then jumped out of bed.  
  
"Mara, are you okay?" he asked her, stepping into the smaller room.  
  
"Yes, I just----"  
  
Another wave of nausea overtook her.  
  
He was instantly beside her, helping her with her hair while he reached out and   
probed her body with the Force. She was shinning with health, so what could be   
the problem?, he pondered worriedly. He probed further--- and stopped in shock.  
  
In the midst of Mara's presence were two tiny points of awareness, almost too   
small to be felt yet they were there, close to one another and beaming with   
energy, Force and life.  
  
Mara was pregnant with twins!   
  
Before he could tell her, he heard her gasp as she understood what he had just   
discovered.  
  
"How can?.." she whispered in shock, then threw up again.  
  
Luke tried to soothe her stomach even as he too wondered how it was possible.  
As far as they knew, the Emperor had made sure that she wouldn't have children.  
Despite the current circumstances though, they were both elated that he had   
failed in that plan.  
  
  
  
  
Once her morning sicknesses were over and that she had gotten rid of their side-  
effects, they canceled their daily schedules and went to Luke's doctor. He   
happily confirmed to them that they were indeed future parents; the children and   
mother were in good health and well.  
  
While they waited for him to come back with something that would help with the   
morning sicknesses, Mara reflected about what it meant in her life. Ever since   
they had returned from their honeymoon, she had split her days between the   
hospital, where her beloved charges had been transferred with new companions,   
her courses, and the Senate's main hearing room to help Luke during the huge   
sessions. With twins in the making, she suspected that one of her three chosen   
duties would have to go for the time being.  
  
*Don't worry, Mara, I will survive,* her husband sent her gently.   
  
"But it will be less demanding than spending my days with the children," she   
argued slightly, still feeling thorn between her love for Luke and her love for   
the recovering patients under her care.  
  
"But it will mean more to you than if you choose to privilege the Senate," he   
answered wisely. "Besides, the children will lose you for a while once the   
twins will be there; it's better if you make the cut as short as you can," he   
smiled at her.  
  
"Oh yeah," she teased him, "and where will you be while I'll be home taking care   
of the babies?"  
  
Luke perched an eyebrow at this, then smiled softly. "I'll be there with you of   
course. When they will be born, the Senate will call me if they need me, but   
otherwise, my family comes first," he assured her seriously.  
  
While his answer surprised her slightly, she conceded that Luke wouldn't react   
any other way were he not her Luke. As the children had told her, he was a   
prince charming but without the title.  
  
The doctor finally returned with the nutrients.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Anakin didn't know how long he had been on Dagobah. He had pouted, meditated,   
healed himself, then tinkered... and now it was time to return in the galaxy.  
He checked the engine of the shuttle one last time, shooing away a snake which   
was considering it as a warm place to nestle, then turned toward his small   
companion.  
  
"Are you sure that you don't want to return with me, Master?" he asked him,   
crouching down to be at his level.  
  
"Yes," the old alien nodded tiredly. "The past I belong to, and brighter the   
future is. No guide your son needs, nor you. Great Jedi Masters you will be on   
your own."  
  
"But the past isn't a bad thing, Yoda," Ani reminded him, referring to the   
lesson that he himself had learnt the hard way. "Your wisdom and experience   
would be another way to ensure the future."  
  
Yoda gently shook his head. "Close my end is, Anakin. Move forward you must,   
without the burdens of the past. Proud I am of you and of your children. Fool   
I was to forbid you love."  
  
"And I forgive you, Master Yoda," Ani smiled gently, then bowed his head in   
deference. "I cannot thank you enough for your help in healing me, Master. I   
promise I will never stray away from my vows to the Light."  
  
"I know," the Jedi sighed even as he lightly rested his small hand on Anakin's   
bristle of fair/grey hair. "Go you must now; await you, your son does."  
  
Spurred by the mention of his son, Anakin smiled one last time at his very old   
friend, then stood to his full height and turned toward his waiting ship.  
  
"With you and your family the Force will be, always," the alien bid him   
farewell, then slowly walked away from the humming ship.  
  
"And with you, Master Yoda," he answered softly, then climbed up the ship.  
  
It was time to leave this place and begin his long trek back toward Coruscant or   
wherever his son and his wife were. But first, he reminded himself, he had to   
find the closest safe port to change ship... and clothes, he added with a wry   
smirk.  
  
He sealed the hatch, then moved forward in the one-seater cockpit. It had taken   
a bit of ingenuity to adapt Yoda's cockpit to his own imposing size; while he   
still couldn't stand completely in it, he could sit without being hunched over   
himself. He flicked switches, slowly bringing the ship to life, then at last,   
it was lift-off time.  
  
Slowly, he shifted the ship's position until he could see his companion one last   
time, then flashed his landing lights at him and kicked in the main boosters.  
  
After Force knew how long, he was going back home.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Mara's pregnancy proceeded without any mishap for either future parents nor the   
children.   
  
The senate, who hadn't really seen Mara on a regular basis given the emigration   
of the refugees wing at Coruscant Medcenter, formerly known as the Imperial   
medcenter, merely accepted to leave her schedule to the liberty of her now-  
revealed husband.  
  
However, the medcenter didn't allow her that much latitude; they warned her,   
with a smirk, that they would force her home if they detected even the slightest   
sign that she had to stop working to keep the babies safe.  
  
Finally, her young charges were slowly dwindling in number as the up-to-now   
impossible to heal children recovered as complete a health and functionality as   
they could and were returned to their original families or entrusted to   
excellent families of their kind. Those who remained promised to the others to   
make sure that her babies would be safe and that their temporary guardian   
wouldn't overexert herself.  
  
Thus, four, five, then six other months passed, each day accompanied by the   
constant growth of her belly until she had to accept that she had to stay home   
until the children would be old enough for her to return to her 'first'   
children.  
  
Even though her twins, a boy and a girl, weren't as big as they should be, they   
were still grown enough to make her feel like a Hutt. However, she knew that   
she wasn't that fat either; thanks to her slight exercising throughout her   
pregnancy, she had managed to keep her line so that only her expanded stomach   
was different on her.  
  
Still, that wasn't her main worry, and especially not now.  
  
  
  
  
She had begun to have contractions during the night, but since the morning,   
nothing. Finally tired of just laying on the bed and wait for something to   
happen again, she sighed heavily, then rolled herself on her side before pushing   
herself off her comfortable medical bunk.  
  
"What are you doing?" Luke asked her, instantly at her side to either help her   
or restrain her.  
  
"I need to stretch my legs," she answered, using his nearby shoulder as a hold   
to pull herself to a sitting position.  
  
"Are you sure it's safe?" he asked her even though he helped her to a standing   
position, then helped her to support her extra weight.  
  
She welcomed his steadying hand.  
  
"Doesn't look like they'll just slip out on themselves, love," she teased him.   
"If they're taking a break before the last run, then so do I."  
  
"Hmmm, well, if the nurse comes in and tell us that it was a bad idea, I can   
always blame it on your persuasion skills," he teased her even as he helped her   
closer to the window.  
  
"Do you really think that she will believe you considering my state, farmboy?"   
she asked in the same mood, silently thanking him for taking her mind off the   
upcoming physical challenge.   
  
"Oh yes," he nodded, "and especially 'because' of your state. Pregnant women's   
mood-swings are well-known," he smiled at her.  
  
"Well it would be the first time that I would hear you complain about them," she   
ribbed him, leaning against him when he took position behind her to give her   
even more support.   
  
"I was just very understanding," he whispered lightly, then pecked her cheek.   
  
Oh yes, she admitted warmly, Luke had been more than patient and understanding   
with her throughout the past months. No matter what she had ditched on him   
during the particularly difficult days or when her own patience had been so   
frayed that she hadn't been able to use the soothing techniques or her aching   
body, he had always been there, ready to help, listen, comfort, and soothe.   
He had even allowed her to rest from her sometimes awful feelings by finding   
refuge in his mind for a little while, while he himself kept an eye on her body,   
which had been in a trance. Thus, unlike regular children, their children   
already knew both of their parents since they had switched places then and   
again.  
  
In a way, she smile softly, they had truly shared that pregnancy.  
  
A movement from her companion attracted her attention back to the present and   
she gazed down at his hands just as they found the openings on the sides of her   
awful medical gown... then he splayed his warm hands on her belly before he   
gently rubbed the stretched skin and sent a soothing balm in her complaining,   
physiological structures. She melted against him even as she felt Kyle and Kara   
calm down under their father's reassuring presence.  
  
Mara meant to thank him for his help--- but she didn't have time to begin her   
sentence before her contractions began anew.  
  
"Ooooh," she moaned, bringing her own hands over Luke's to steady herself even   
as he tried to relieve her again.  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't think---"  
  
"It's not you, Luke," she reassured him through gritted teeth. "Let's get back   
to that bunk before I regret getting up at all."  
  
She had the feeling that things would proceed much faster this time.  
  
  
  
  
And indeed they did.  
  
Once Mara was settled back on the bunk, Luke called the medics, then went to her   
side to help her with her pains. He gaped when he became aware that the first   
child was already on its way.  
  
Kyle, his son, had decided that he had enough to wait. The medics informed them   
that the speed of her dilatation was exceptional considering that she had been   
almost closed up less than half an hour ago, then there was no time to discuss   
details.  
  
His son wanted out, and he wanted it now, making his mother pant and groan as   
she tried to help him while holding onto her husband's hand with enough strength   
to break bones if she were not careful.  
  
That's when his comlink went off with a priority one signal.  
  
  
  
  
Not too far from the medcenter, Anakin had finally managed to find himself a   
comlink to contact his son. Even though he couldn't wait to be with him once   
again, he had decided to keep his presence shielded in the Force to save him   
from too big a shock when he would feel him, then instead of showing up at his   
doorstep, had decided to call first.  
  
He dialed his code for a priority one signal, then waited.  
  
Luke didn't answer.   
  
Careful to not betray his presence, he reached out and searched for the familiar   
presence of his son; he found it in the medcenter. He felt that he was both   
excited and worried. Puzzled, Ani maintained the contact a little while longer   
then withdrew with very little answers as to the reason of Luke's distraught   
state. His son's thoughts were such a jumble of feelings that he could only   
surmise that it had something to do with Mara Jade, but other than that, his   
light probe wouldn't give him more details.  
  
He decided to meet him there, but not as secretly as he had first thought.  
The closer he walked to the medcenter, the more he let go of his shield until he   
was sure that his son could feel him.  
  
  
  
  
  
The twins' birth had taken place in record time, both children obviously eager   
to meet their parents for real. The first meeting had thus taken place, from   
the crooks of their mother's arms.  
  
Both infants were sleeping quietly now, Kyle snuggled in his mother's arms while   
Kara barely shifted in her father's.  
  
"They're so beautiful, Mara," Luke told her for the fiftieth time since they had   
seen them for the first time.  
  
"Couldn't expect less with you involved in the process, farmboy," she smiled   
softly, then leaned slightly upward to peck his lips.  
  
He contributed to that gentle moment. Here, with his lover and the fruits of   
their love, he truly was at peace and content.  
  
He couldn't ask more out of life.  
  
"Say, I thought I heard your comlink go off a little bit earlier," Mara half-  
whispered when they put an end to their gentle kiss.   
  
"It did," he nodded then gazed back down at the sleeping infant in his arms.  
  
Somehow, he reflected wistfully, he already knew that she would have her   
mother's temper.  
  
"Who was it?" she asked in slight annoyance.  
  
"Dunno," he shrugged slightly, then, securing the baby in one arm, patted his   
belt and pulled out the said device before resuming his more secure hold on his   
daughter.   
  
Even as he read the code and gaped in disbelief, he began to grow aware of a   
familiar presence in the Force.  
  
"By the gods..." he gaped slack-jaw, his hold on Kara dangerously weakening.  
  
Mara noticed it and put a hand under the infant's body to insure her safety.  
  
"What is it? What's wrong?" she inquired worriedly.  
  
For a brief moment, the young Jedi didn't hear his wife, wasn't aware anymore of   
where he was or what he was doing. He could barely believe his senses as his   
father's presence grew stronger and stronger--- and closer, he understood when   
he located him in his surroundings.  
  
"Luke!" Mara's voice drew him back to the present.   
  
Belatedly, he remembered his daughter and made sure that she didn't slip anymore   
than she already had.   
  
"What is it?" his lover inquired worriedly.  
  
He smiled ecstatically at her, then kissed her to share his great joy.  
  
*It's Father,* he sent her happily. *He's back!*  
  
Mara cut their kiss in shock.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Back?" she gasped, stumped.   
  
"Yes, and he's coming right here," her overjoyed husband nodded energetically   
before he kissed her again, then stood up and leaned closer to give their   
daughter back to her.   
  
"I'll go meet him," he informed her.  
  
"And take him in here?" she inquired with slight unease.   
  
From what Luke had told her, she knew that Anakin was as good a man as his son   
was, and that he had left to heal himself, but... how would he react to her   
presence and her wedding to his son? After all, she thought glumly, she had   
almost killed Luke the last time that they had seen each other.  
  
Her husband picked up on her worry and cooled down.  
  
"Would you prefer if I don't bring him to the room?" he offered more soberly.  
  
For a short moment, she didn't know what to answer. She first gazed at her   
wonderful husband; she knew how much his father meant to him, how much he had   
wished for this day to come.  
  
Still, she reflected, gazing down at the two treasures that she was holding in   
her arms, those two little ones didn't need any scene upon their first hours of   
life. She didn't know what to expect from their... grandfather..., she slowly   
realized.  
  
Kyle and Kara were Anakin's grandchildren... she couldn't block him away from   
them; it wouldn't be right, she thought seriously. She gazed back up at her   
husband and shook her head.  
  
"No, it's all right. I'm sure the children will love to meet their sole   
grandfather," she smiled softly.  
  
Luke returned her smile, pecked her lips once again before he gently caressed   
the heads of their two children, then he was gone to meet up with his returning   
father.  
  
"Lucky you," she whispered to her sleeping children, "you will meet the whole   
family in one day," she smiled at them before kissing affectionately each small   
forehead.  
  
Her children were born now, and she and Luke wouldn't be alone anymore. It   
truly was a perfect day, she smiled to herself, then settled in to wait for her   
husband's return with her father-in-law.  
  
  
  
  
Anakin rode the turbolift up to the fourth floor where he could feel his son's   
presence. He knew that Luke had felt him now and was coming toward him.   
  
Despite what he felt however, he stopped short in his track upon exiting the   
lift. He had been so overjoyed with the prospect of seeing his son again that   
he had completely missed the fact that his son was in the new-born unit.  
  
It hit him full in the stomach; Mara had just given birth. Before he could   
think further though, his son's so-well-remembered voice called to him.  
  
"Father!" he smiled as he walked toward him, then he was hugging him warmly.  
  
"It so wonderful to see you again, and healed!" he told him earnestly, in awe.   
  
Anakin returned his hug tenfold, but not for too long; he hadn't gotten a good   
look at him since Luke had caught him by surprise. He pulled slightly away from   
him, smiling warmly at the sight of his happy, healthy son.  
  
"I missed you so much, Luke," he told him truthfully.  
  
"You have no idea how much I missed you too," his son returned with a smile   
while his eyes studied his true features. "So it worked," he smiled brightly.   
"You managed to heal yourself!"  
  
"With some help, yes," he nodded, then softened, "and I understand that you too   
succeeded in taking care of the galaxy... and even found time to start your own   
family," he teased him slightly.  
  
Luke nodded excitedly, then turned slightly toward where he had come from.  
"Come, Mara and the children are waiting," he smiled at him, then went off   
again.  
  
Anakin had no choice but to stride after him to keep up with his excited son.  
  
"It's so wonderful to have you back today of all days, Father," he told him once   
he was back beside him. "Where were you? What happened?"  
  
"I could ask you the same thing, Luke," he told him slightly, "but let's wait   
for a more private place to share that, huh?" he suggested seriously.  
  
"Sure," the new father smiled.  
  
Anakin smiled in returned, amused by the fact that his son didn't have much in   
mind except his new family. He dimly wondered if he too would have acted that   
way had he been there for the birth of his own children.  
  
Not that being a grandfather wasn't affecting him today, he conceded as he   
became aware of a growing trepidation in himself.  
  
He was eager to meet his son's children.  
  
  
  
  
As he led his newly-arrived father to his wife's and children's room, Luke   
reflected back on what he had barely taken the time to see.  
  
He had come out of the corridor just in time to see a tall man exit the main   
turbolift--- somehow, he had instantly known that he had been his father, no   
matter that Anakin Skywalker didn't have anything in common with the former   
image of his father, yet at the same time, he now conceded, he retained the   
basic of the features that he had always seen when his father had removed his   
helmet while with him.  
  
The roundish cheeks hadn't changed, he smiled to himself, but they were now free   
of scars, and a healthy tan was now coloring them. His hair were also tainted   
with gray while still retaining some of what looked like their trademark blond   
hair. His daughter already had hair like theirs, he smiled wistfully, then   
gazed at his father who was walking silently beside him.  
  
"It's like a miracle to have you back in health, Father," he smiled at him   
earnestly.  
  
"It 'is' a miracle, Son," Anakin smiled at him in answer. "Everything is a   
miracle," he finished more wistfully, turning his head forward once again, as if   
feeling that they were coming closer to their destination.  
  
"It is," Luke agreed knowingly, then keyed the door open.  
  
  
  
  
  
When the door of the room opened, Mara slightly braced herself for her visitor,   
but no matter what she had expected, it certainly wasn't what she got.  
  
A tall, human, healthy man came in after Luke. He was dressed in well-worn but   
clean trousers and a woolen shirt, and other than his lightsaber at his belt, he   
wasn't carrying any weapons of any kind. He was also fairly aged, his face   
slightly wrinkled and his fair hair tinged with grey streaks, but his eyes, the   
same blue than her husband's, shone with eternal youth.  
  
She couldn't help but gasp in surprise; she had expected him to be slightly   
maimed or even relying on a breathing apparatus, but instead, he was as healthy   
as her own husband was.  
  
"Welcome back, Anakin," she smiled shyly at him.  
  
"Thank you," her father-in-law smiled warmly at her, then exchanged a glance   
with Luke who was already beside the bed.  
  
Luke nodded silently; his father stepped closer until he could see the children.  
  
"It's good to see you well, Mara, and of course, congratulations," the tall man   
told her gently.  
  
"Thank you," she nodded politely, then slightly shifted her hold on the children   
until they were angled toward their grandfather.  
  
"Kyle, Kara," she smiled at the awakening babies, "meet your grandfather, Anakin   
Skywalker," she smiled up at the older man.  
  
Beside her, Luke remained silent, but she could feel his joy all the same at   
seeing his family complete and happy.  
  
*It's the most wonderful day of my life, Mara,* he sent her warmly.  
  
*Even more than our wedding?* she asked him teasingly.  
  
*Equal,* he retorted, telling her that they were all on the same rank in his   
heart: the first.  
  
Meanwhile, the new grandfather slowly leaned closer to the infants and   
hesitantly caressed Kara's cheek.  
  
  
  
  
Luke saw tears in his father's eyes, something which he had never thought even   
possible a few years ago. Whatever he had done to recover his health, he   
thought while he drank in the beautiful moment which had been granted to his   
family, it had indeed worked a miracle.  
  
He had seen him without his armor; he knew what kind of damage had existed under   
the black mask and helmet... and he also knew that the Force had never been able   
to heal him. Now however, it was as if his father had never been through the   
hell of the past, as if he had aged normally. To see his father free from even   
his personal prison was a gift from the Force.  
  
The object of his thoughts hesitantly looked up at him, then at his wife.  
  
"May I hold them?" he asked Mara.  
  
Luke was elated when his lover nodded without any hesitation and allowed Ani to   
pick up Kara before she settled Kyle in his other arm.  
  
Luke had to admit that he too had been slightly worried as to how his lover   
would react to his father, but when he had seen him completely healed, his hopes   
had risen.  
  
And now, they were soaring high.  
  
Everything would be all right.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
TBC in Epilogue: A Well deserved Family  
  
  
SJ: Skyjade@globetrotter.net (any positive stuff is welcome, but negative or   
mean comments will be thrown down the Sarlacc's throat without being read.) 


	46. A Whole New Life: Epilogue

A Whole New Life  
Epilogue: A Well deserved Family  
By SJ 12-23-01/21-04-02 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)  
  
________________  
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs   
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.  
See my homepage for more details.  
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702  
  
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her   
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving   
me some of your precious time, my friend :)  
__________________  
  
  
  
Kyle and Kara Skywalker were now five weeks old and awakening to the world   
around them. While Mara was outside to purchase a few articles for the   
children, Luke and his father were their assigned babysitters.  
  
"I felt something last night," Luke commented seriously while he finished to   
change his daughter's diaper.  
  
"Like a bright light that left the Force?" his father inquired softly while he   
continued to craddle Kyle while he helped him with his bottle of milk.   
  
Luke looked up at that, surprised that he had known what he had meant.  
  
"You felt it too?" he inquired to his rocking father.  
  
"Master Yoda left this plane of life," he answered simply, sadly. "He deserves   
his rest."  
  
"He truly was nine hundred years old?" the younger man inquired, resuming his   
task while keeping his daughter from wriggling out of her new diaper.  
  
Much like her mother, he dimly reflected, she was full of energy, or, as Mara   
joked, she was taking after him. Whoever it was, the infant girl required their   
constant attention when changing time came.  
  
"Perhaps even older than that," Ani conceded after a moment of silence. "I   
tried to convince him to come back," he then told him seriously. "I wanted you   
to meet him, to benefit from his wisdom."  
  
"But?" Luke asked even as he rested his hand beside his daughter to keep her   
from coming any closer to the edge of the laundry table.  
  
"He said that you didn't need him," his father answered seriously. "That you   
were better on your own with your values and ethic than with the rules and   
philosophy of the past. I never told you," his father then commented glumly,   
"but the Jedi Rules were partly responsible for my turning."  
  
Luke, who had finished his daughter's changing, gently picked her up in his   
arms, then turned toward him.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
  
  
  
For a moment, Anakin gazed at his grandson who was slowly falling asleep in his   
arms, then back at his own son. How he wished that he had experienced this with   
him too, he thought forlornly, then shooed the sad thought away.  
  
Only the present mattered.  
  
"When I was learning with Obi-Wan," he began forlornly, "there was a rule that a   
Jedi shall not know hate, nor anger... nor love. It was part of our vows to the   
Light and it was a very strict rule."  
  
"Knowing you," his son commented while he set his daughter down in the double   
crib with her favorite teddy, "it didn't stop you from loving Mother."  
  
"Correct, and it got me into much trouble with the Jedi Council," he added   
glumly, "but... our love would have kept me from committing the worst mistake of   
all my life: to trust Palpatine. The Jedi's opposition is what led me into his   
grasp, and from there..." he hesitated.  
  
"He manipulated you and the people around you until he had what he wanted," Luke   
nodded knowingly.   
  
"Yes. Had I been allowed to love, things might be extremely different   
nowadays," he sighed heavily.  
  
"But not necessarily better," his wise son commented seriously.   
  
"True," he nodded, then glanced down at his grandson.  
  
Kyle had abandoned his half empty bottle and was dozing sleepily. "Looks like   
he only wanted a snack," he smiled softly at the sleeping baby.  
  
"He'll come around for the full meal," his son reassured him while he bent down   
and picked up his son from his arms. "I have the feeling he'll take after his   
grandfather for the height," he teased him.  
  
"As long as he takes, that they both take after you for wisdom, I won't rebuke   
them," Ani retorted while he stretched his cramped muscles.   
"Well, they could take after your fortitude," Luke answered in kind while he   
tucked his children under their blankets, then sat in the chair beside them.  
  
"Mine is nothing compared to yours, Luke," his father refuted seriously. "you   
went through much more than I did while serving the Emperor."  
  
Luke meant to argue about that, but his father raised a finger to indicate that   
he wasn't finished; the youth held his tongue.  
  
"Except for my accident and loosing your mother, I didn't suffer 'much' under   
the Emperor's yoke, but you... I know you still bear all the traces that I or he   
left on you. And speaking of those," he added meaningfully, "Why haven't you   
gotten rid of them?"  
  
Luke sighed heavily at that, then slumped slightly in his chair, showing to him   
that he wasn't only strong; Anakin understood that this was a very serious   
subject for his son.  
  
"I don't want to," the youth answered simply.   
  
It didn't satisfy Anakin.  
  
"You don't need to bear those forever, Son," he commented him seriously. "It   
won't make you less aware of the past."  
  
"But they are part of who I am, Father, and...," he added more glumly while   
slowly pulling his left, short sleeve up his arm, "that one will never go, no   
matter what I try," he informed him sadly.  
  
Anakin couldn't help but gasp when he saw that his son still bore the imperial   
crest of the defunct tyrant where his slave mark had been. He had known that   
the Emperor had made him get rid of his tattoo, that his original slave mark was   
long gone, but he had never thought that his son still bore that tattoo. Luke   
pulled his shirt back in place, hiding his shameful mark once again.  
  
"Why can't you get rid of this one too?" he asked him seriously, slowly growing   
aware that he was about to discover something he hadn't known about his son's   
experience as a slave.  
  
  
  
  
Luke took a deep breath, glanced at his beloved, sleeping children for strength.  
  
One last time, he thought softly at them.  
  
"It's not a tattoo," he answered shortly. "The Emperor forged it with the   
Force, and no matter what I try, I can't undo it."  
  
"What happened exactly?" his father asked him seriously.  
  
"It was too painful for me to understand what he did at that time, but now," he   
hesitated and closed his eyes to gather courage... then gazed at his father once   
again. "He somehow marked my heart with this... and it shows on my arm. The   
only way for me to get rid of it is to die..."  
  
In short, he thought glumly while his father digested what he had just told him,   
he had been marked for life. He himself had learnt to accept it, to ignore the   
presence of the emblem on his arm. He had also tried to cover it with another   
tattoo, but the morning after that attempt, the painting had disappeared and the   
shameful sign was back. He had learnt to live with it, as had Mara.  
  
"I wonder how long he will continue to hurt us," his father finally commented in   
the silence.   
  
"No more if we don't allow him," he answered seriously.  
  
"Well," Ani smiled slightly at him, "you sure do an excellent job at undoing   
what he did to the galaxy; I guess it compensates for your marks."  
  
"Glad you see it this way, Father," Luke smiled back, feeling his good mood   
return.   
  
He stood up and moved toward the door. "Come on, let's take advantage of their   
sleep to check what the Senate transmitted for you."  
  
The two of them left the sleeping children under the watchful guard of a nanny   
droid who would contact them the moment that one of the children would steer   
awake.  
  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
More time passed; the children reached one year old, then two and began to walk   
all around the place.  
Luke, Mara, and even Anakin continued to share a schedule to remain with them   
instead of leaving them to the care of droids or babysitters.  
  
For Luke, his interventions with the Senate remained limited to major decisions   
and meetings. Otherwise, his father became the main Jedi guardian in the   
Senate, or outside in the galaxy if he were needed. However, given the well   
coordinated dispatch of the remaining fleet throughout the galaxy, he was rarely   
needed away.  
  
Piett, they had discovered, was indeed an accomplished commander. They could   
rely on him.  
  
As for Mara, she returned to her volunteer work, but only a few days per week.   
The children wouldn't let her come back full time, rebuking her for not being   
with her own family.  
  
  
  
  
That day, it was Luke's turn to be away while Anakin and Mara stayed home.  
While Luke had offered his father to separate their level so that he could have   
his own private quarters, he had denied his offer, saying that he didn't mind   
the arrangement at all. Since the young couple didn't mind his presence at all,   
they had kept things the way they were. Thus, they had opened extra apartments   
for a few more families when it had become obvious that Anakin would stay with   
them.  
"I still wonder how Luke got the idea to transform the three castles as free-  
rent buildings," Ani commented while he played with his granddaughter who was   
piling up blocks. Beside her, her brother was playing farmer on Naboo.  
  
Ever since they had been able to sit by themselves, the children had   
demonstrated that they were gifted with a very precocious mind, catching on   
concepts and activities that normal children took a little longer to understand.  
Kyle was particularly fast as far as imagination went.  
  
"I don't know," Mara smiled while she gave a stray toy back to her son, "but   
looks like we'll have another imaginative boy in the family," she smiled at her   
son  
  
"Thank," he smiled at her, then continued his sounds of animals and harvesting   
tools.  
  
"It truly is a brilliant idea," her father-in-law commented while he gazed out   
at the vista of the two others castles which were now the living quarters of   
countless families. "Much better than to destroy those places or use them for   
the government."  
  
"Sure is," she reflected out loud, "Although, I don't know about you, but   
personally, I find that the actual senate looks a lot like the former palace."  
  
Ani nodded in agreement, then continued to play with Kara who was redoing her   
tower for the countless time in the past hour.  
  
"That one there," she muttered to herself, "geen one now, granpa," she smiled at   
her grandfather.  
  
Ani obeyed with a smile and rested the green cube over the yellow one. The   
child cheered happily when the tower remained upright.   
  
  
Strange, Mara mused as she watched them play together, how she had gone from   
being uncomfortable with Anakin to not being able to imagine not having him   
around. Of course, he was a wonderful help with the children who were beginning   
to show a temper much like her own while having Luke's genius to get into sticky   
situations, but there was more to it than that, she admitted.  
  
He truly was a nice man, and he didn't invade their private lives in any way   
although he was living with them. He was very much unlike the man that she had   
known before they had all parted company.   
  
That man, she reflected, she wouldn't have let him come anywhere near her   
children, but Anakin... she didn't mind making him grandfather a third time, she   
smiled to herself while she brought her hands to her still flat stomach.  
  
Another boy had decided to join their little family, she thought wistfully.   
Even though he wasn't there yet, she and Luke were already filled with joy at   
the prospect of welcoming another proof of their love in their lives.  
  
"Do you know what amazes me the most with what happened after the change?" her   
father-in-law asked, using their commonly agreed expression to mean after their   
fateful day.  
  
"How much Luke accomplished?" she offered seriously while she noticed how her   
little red-head, blue eyed boy intently studied his grandfather.  
  
"After what change?" Kyle asked seriously.  
  
"By himself," Ani nodded at her, then turned toward the little child. "After   
Daddy and Mommy changed work," he explained simply to the young toddler.  
  
Kyle seemed to digest this a bit, then returned to his game.  
  
Changed work, Mara mused while she nodded in agreement with Ani, it was one way   
to put it---  
  
"Hey, Kyle, it's mine!" Kara's voice rose indignantly; Mara looked up just in   
time to see her little fair-haired girl stand up to retrieve a cube from her   
brother.  
  
To which of course Kyle didn't cooperate. She and Ani exchanged a slightly   
amused glance, then she nodded and stepped in to resolve the small conflict.  
  
Again.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Like any growing up children, the Skywalker twins were terrible when they were   
on the same line of thought, but even more rambunctious when they were   
bickering.  
  
"Dad, he did it again!" seven-year-old Kara Skywalker complained while she   
glared at her brother who was sitting in front of her.   
  
"I didn't do anything," the boy complained, turning toward his mother.  
  
"Yes you did," their little brother Anakin added from his place beside his   
sister. "I saw you."  
  
Luke and Mara had hoped that the past days of constant bickering during the   
meals would come to an end if they changed the places of the children around the   
table, but, Luke sighed in slight exasperation, they were obviously wrong. He   
exchanged a glance with his wife; she silently told him that she left it in his   
hands this time.  
  
In front of him, his own father kept an eye on the ongoing conflict.  
  
"Kara, Kyle, that's enough," Luke finally said out loud and strongly enough to   
shock the children mute. "Kyle, if you can't stop teasing your sister, you will   
eat in the kitchen until you understand. Kara," he continued, focusing on his   
up-to-now jubilant daughter, "you brother can look at you without teasing you.   
Understood?"  
  
Both twins nodded contritely, then resumed eating in silence. Beside Kara,   
little Anakin glanced from one sibling to another, sought his father's eyes for   
a second, then mimicked his older siblings. The adults continued to eat in   
silence.  
  
"So," the older Anakin inquired from the other end of the square table, "when   
are you expecting the visiting groups from the schools?"   
  
Luke smiled slightly as he recognized his father's attempt to interest the   
children and pull them out of their pouting while teaching them to behave with   
one another.  
  
"The Senate?" Kyle asked with interest. "The school will take us to visit the   
Senate?"  
  
"When?" Kara inquired, completing his thought.  
  
"Can I go too?" Anakin, who looked like an exact copy of both his father and   
grandfather when they had been younger, asked eagerly.  
  
"The details aren't set yet," Luke informed them in a more regular tone of voice   
than when he had rebuked them, "but yes, all the schools will be invited, yours   
too."  
  
"What about me?" his youngest inquired again.  
  
"I'll try to arrange something, Ani," his grandfather answered his namesake.  
  
The child smiled his brightest smile at this, his missing tooth adding to the   
effect.  
  
*Are you sure you still want to begin their training in the Force?* Mara   
inquired through their link while the children engaged in a conversation with   
their grandfather.  
  
*More than ever,* he nodded at her. *The accidental uses happen too often to   
risk their using their feelings to do that. Especially Kara.*  
  
*Well,* she told him even as she rested her hand on his free one. *May the   
Force, and patience, be with you then, Master Skywalker,* she teased him mock-  
seriously.  
  
Oh yes, he reflected seriously, he would need a lot of patience to train his two   
energetic older children, but he would do it. He had done far worse than   
that... at least, he hoped so.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Thus, just like he himself had begun his training around six years old, his   
oldest children began to learn about the strange energies that the could   
sometimes feel. At first, Luke only focused on developing their senses and   
taught them when it was okay to use their new sense and when it wasn't, but as   
the months, then years passed, he moved on to levitation, physical exercises,   
and more complex abilities.  
  
While he taught to Kyle and Kara, young Ani spent a lot of time with his   
grandfather who told him about stories of the past, way before the Empire about   
which he had heard a little.  
  
Then, when he too reached seven years old, he joined his siblings in the   
training sessions. He caught up with them in a matter of months, proving that   
he had inherited his grandfather's potential.  
  
At first, it worried Luke, but after talking about this with his wife and   
father, he continued to teach him, allowing him to develop his skills to his   
fullest while teaching him ethic and self-control.  
  
  
  
The years passed for all of them; routine remained mostly the same, except for a   
new baby girl joining their family.  
  
They called her Leia after her aunt, of whom she was an exact copy.   
  
When their youngest was old enough to support long space travels, Luke and Mara   
made a point to themselves to spend a part of the children's vacations away from   
Coruscant to allow them to see other things than the endless spires of durasteel   
and the populated street of Capitol City.  
  
They thus took the children to several different places, even dreary Tatooine,   
to show them how some other children in the galaxy lived compared to them.   
  
Life went on happily; the worst was over and what remained never presented a   
real challenge for the slowly fading away heroes of the Liberation Day, as they   
came to call it.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Sixteen years ago, Ani reflected, he had returned to his son... and to a whole   
new life.  
  
On the balcony of the lush garden, his four grandchildren were gaping at the   
beauty of the inner garden of the Freedom Palace, formerly known as the Imperial   
Palace.  
  
Since they had had such a garden in their own place, the children had never   
thought about asking to see the other one... until he himself had mentioned the   
animals which were now part of it.   
  
While he watched them test their sensing skills to find the hidden creatures, he   
reflected on his relationship with each child.  
  
Kyle, the oldest, was very much like Luke, he smiled to himself. He was   
thoughtful, creative, and more than skilled with a lightsaber. It was always a   
pleasure to help him improve those skills  
  
Kara was much more like her mother, fiery tempered, but also fiercely protective   
of the ones she loved. He could still remembered when she had been told the   
truth about the past of her family. Had the Emperor still been alive, he was   
positive that she would have killed him before he could blink. While she was   
slightly hot-headed however, she was also making much progress in her self-  
control. He sighed in relief; they now knew that she wouldn't be at risk of   
the Dark side anymore.  
  
Anakin, who was so much like him that he sometimes felt as if he were looking in   
a mirror like when he was looking at his own son, had inherited his potential   
and his mechanical skills. He also tried to convince him to teach him how to   
fly, but even though he himself knew how the fourteen-year-old teenager felt for   
being grounded, he respected his parents' wish. The child would learn to fly   
when he would be a little older. However, he smiled to himself, that didn't   
keep him from taking him then and again for a spin in a fighter.  
  
Last, but not the least, was Leia; petite, long brown haired Leia, whom he was   
closest to. The moment that the child had been born, he had felt an instant   
attachment to her, had somehow known that she would be like the daughter that he   
had lost before really getting to know her. Of course, Luke and Mara cherished   
her as much as they did the three others, but there was a special link between   
himself and his youngest grand-daughter. She almost felt like his own... like   
his wife.  
  
"Look grandpa!" the object of his thoughts called over her shoulder, then   
pointed at the beautiful bird that flew away from the bushes where he had found   
refuge.   
  
Smiling, he stepped closer to her, then picked her up in his arms to allow her   
to see further than the high balustrade.   
  
"Let's go have a closer look," he smiled at her, then indicated to the eager,   
older teenagers, how to reach the lower level.  
  
While he watched Kyle and Kara debate which button press, until young Ani did it   
for them, he reflected that life couldn't be better for either of them, nor   
their parents for that matter.  
  
They began their exploration of the garden.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
That night, a dream came to Luke.  
  
One second he was sleeping quietly, Mara warmly snuggled in his arms, and the   
next, he was awake, dressed in his now traditional navy blue and white suit.  
He was carrying his lightsaber at his belt and was surrounded by what looked   
like white emptiness. He gazed around himself, slightly worried, when the   
landscape changed to a planet he instantly recognized as defunct Alderaan.  
  
"Luke," Leia's soft voice called from behind him.  
  
He turned around and smiled at her.  
  
"Leia, it's been quite a while."  
  
"A busy while for you, brother," she smiled back as she moved closer.  
  
Luke belatedly became aware that she wasn't surrounded by the blue aura of a   
Force angel.   
  
"This is a goodbye, dear brother," she sadly answered his thought. "I am not   
powerful enough to remain with you anymore, and I can't appear like this to   
Father and you... I had to choose someone," she finished regretfully.  
  
"Goodbye, you mean... you will die again?" he asked her worriedly.  
  
"No," she reassured him, resting her hand on his shoulder--- and bringing home   
the fact that she was very real at the moment.  
  
Luke stood stock still, shocked by the feeling of her hand on his shoulder, then   
against his face.  
  
"I will rest for real this time, brother," she told him softly, then smiled   
gently: "Thanks to you, all our destinies are fulfilled now."  
  
"Thanks to you, you mean," he corrected her while he hesitantly brushed a tear   
from her cheek.  
  
"It was a team work," she smiled sadly at him, then moved forward and hugged him   
tightly to herself. "I will miss you, Luke," she whispered against his   
shoulder.  
  
"And I will never forget you, dear Leia," he whispered, his throat tight with   
emotions. "I only wish that we had had more quality time together," he tried to   
joke.  
  
"In our next life, we will, Luke," she reassured him. "In the meantime, Mother   
and I will be waiting for you, and Father," she added while she pulled away from   
his hold.  
  
"Leia?" he stopped her from leaving, "You... You're not upset if we named Leia   
after you, are you?" he asked her before she could go.  
  
"It is an honor to have such a wonderful niece, Luke," she reassured him. "The   
four of them are terrific and make us all proud of you, Mara and Father."  
  
"Us?" he frowned slightly.  
  
Leia began to disappear, as if her time was up. "The rest of the Jedis who are   
also with you,... Master Skywalker," she finished, then with a last smile, she   
was gone--- and Luke awoke.  
  
Leia was gone forever now, he thought sadly, then tightened his hold on his   
sleeping, beloved wife; he hid his features in her soft mane of hair. He would   
miss her, he thought as he felt a few tears slide down his face before sleep   
claimed him once again.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Since he knew how difficult his father's grief for Leia had been, Luke decided   
to not tell him that she was gone forever. She hadn't come back for several   
years now; he estimated that he didn't need to tell anybody about his last   
vision of her.  
  
Hence, he went about his life, devoting more and more of his time to the   
training of his children while studying the messages of a few other people who   
believed that they had Force abilities.  
  
Meanwhile, Mara continued to work at the hospital, having completed a medical   
course to be able to treat young patients, not only play with them, while Anakin   
kept the Senate free from corruption.  
  
  
  
  
  
As for the children, they grew, matured, fell in love... until they began to   
leave the family nest to establish their own families.  
  
Kyle and Kara remained on Coruscant to help out with the Senate while Ani, a few   
years later, told them that he and his chosen lover would live on Ord Mantell   
where they would be able to teach their respective subjects in schools of their   
choice. Ani selected the community services to help poor children learn the job   
of mechanics to enable them to earn money instead of having to steal to live.  
  
Leia, who was still fourteen, stayed on with them for a while longer, continuing   
her Jedi training with her father, her healing training with her mother, and she   
developed her political skills with her grandfather.  
  
At eighteen years old, she participated to the local election of the new   
senators, and won, then more ten years later, became elected president of the   
senate.  
  
She was the first Jedi and woman who ever occupied such a position.  
  
  
  
  
  
When someone knocked on his door, Anakin knew who it was. He slowly turned   
around, and smiled sadly at the sight of the past yet present who stood in his   
quarters.  
  
His granddaughter, Leia Skywalker, had selected a robe made of pure white which   
reminded him of his own daughter when he had first met her, but her hair were   
curled up and bundled against the nape of her neck like her grandmother used to   
do.  
  
"I wish you could come with us, Grandpa," she told him softly while she walked   
closer to him.  
  
Ani, who was now aged of nearly eighty years old, brought his wrinkled hand to   
her beautiful features. So much like his angel, he thought sadly.  
  
"I wish so too, sweet angel," he answered her truthfully. "But the medic was   
strict; he doesn't want me to leave home for a while. I will watch you from   
here," he reassured her. "You will be a magnificent president, dear Leia, and   
with all the Jedi guardians, you will make sure the future will be as bright as   
your spirit is."  
  
For a long moment, his granddaughter gazed at him, then stepped closer and   
hugged him.  
  
"You taught me everything I know, Anakin," she told him gratefully. "I will   
make you proud of me."  
  
"You already have, Leia," he answered her, then gently disengaged from her   
embrace. "Now go, Ansen and your parents must be waiting for you."  
  
Leia reluctantly nodded at him, then dried her eyes and composed herself.   
  
"Watch me, Grandpa" she told him proudly, kissed his forehead one last time,   
then she ran out of the room.  
  
Oh yes, he promised her even as he slowly shuffled toward his bed, under the   
watchful eyes of his assigned medical droid, he would watch her as she ruled the   
galaxy with her good heart and ethical values.  
  
He reflected that both her grandmother and aunt would be proud of her.  
  
He turned on the holovid on the wall, then reclined on his bed, slightly cursing   
the strange tiredness and weakness that had been overcoming him for a few weeks   
now. Before that day, he had been as healthy as before if a little older   
looking, but for the past weeks, he felt as if time was catching up on him and   
making him feel like the old man he was becoming. Even worse, the speed of the   
turbolifts, or even the sensation of flying, was threatening his heart. For the   
first time in his whole life, he was confined home.  
  
It was extremely unpleasant, and more than a little puzzling, he admitted. It   
wasn't some kind of illness, and his son and wife hadn't aged at all since they   
had become parents. Only he had changed with time. Why? he wondered, why was   
he himself becoming an old man this fast? Had he failed his vows to the Light?,   
he pondered slightly.  
  
He admitted that he didn't think so.  
  
  
On the screen, the Senate session finally began with the traditional opening   
when they had nominated a new president. The former president first spoke at   
length, thanking those who had collaborated with him during his mandate, then   
how he would support the new one... then, it was Leia's turn to enter the   
senate.  
  
While he listened to her, he slowly became lost in the past, remembering moments   
when his future wife had addressed the Senate, or when his own daughter, Leia,   
had become the youngest senator ever and held similar discourse to what her   
niece was now holding.   
  
However, he smiled wistfully, it was now time for that kind of promise and   
reflections to take root. The galaxy was ready to move with her, and improve   
things the right way. The more he listened to her, and the more he understood   
that his work was truly finished now.  
  
He had righted all his wrongs...  
  
Slowly, he drifted asleep... then he slowly became aware that he wasn't alone;   
in the distance, he saw his personal angel.  
  
His Padme.  
  
She was smiling at him, walking closer to him until she was close enough   
towelcome him like when they had been separated for way too long. Anakin   
enthusiastically returned her embrace. He was with her, at last.  
  
On the physical plane, his body took its last breath despite the frantic   
manipulations of the droid, then it slowly vanished since it wasn't needed   
anymore.  
  
His life-work was done.  
  
  
  
  
When Luke and Mara returned from the Senate after witnessing the triumphant   
opening session of their youngest daughter, Luke instantly felt that something   
was different.  
  
He couldn't sense his father; panicked, he reached out, searched, searched----   
then gasped as he understood what it meant.  
  
"No," he whispered in disbelief.  
  
"What is it?" Mara asked from his side just as the lift finally reached their   
floor.  
  
"It's Father," he barely answered her in despair before he tore away from her   
and ran down the corridor, ignoring his wife's startled reaction.  
  
By the time she caught up with him, he had reached his father's door. He keyed   
it open... and stilled in the opening.  
  
Anakin Skywalker was no more.  
  
"No!" he exclaimed again even as he rushed to the empty bed on which were his   
father's clothes and lightsaber. "No, Father, come back!" he begged, kneeling   
beside the bed as his strength left his legs. *Come back! It's not your time   
yet!!!* he sent the same message in the Force.  
  
When no answer came, he belatedly became aware that Mara had also stepped in the   
room and was now kneeling beside him to comfort him.   
  
"I'm sorry, Luke," she told him softly. "I know how much he meant to you."  
  
"Why?" he sobbed on her shoulder, "why now? He wasn't old enough to die," he   
commented sadly.  
  
Mara didn't know what to answer--- but someone else did.  
  
*My destiny is fulfilled, Luke,* Anakin's voice commented in the silence.   
  
Luke looked up at that, then gaped at the sight of his father, who now bore   
younger features then when he had left him a few hours ago.   
  
"You didn't have to go just yet," he told him, getting to his feet to look at   
him in the eye.  
  
"It was not my decision, Son. The Force gives us life, and takes it when the   
time comes. It's the way of the Force, of Life," he told him soothingly.  
  
"We will miss you, Ani," Mara told him, standing up to offer support to her   
grieving husband.  
  
"I will miss you too, my dear daughter-in-law. I know that you will take good   
care of your family. Everything will be all right," he reassured the two   
youths.  
  
"I love you, Father," Luke told him earnestly. "I'm so sorry for being away   
when... when it began," Luke began regretfully, "I would have helped you had I   
been here," he reassured his father. "I was worried when I saw your status when   
I returned."  
  
"I know, Luke," his father answered, "and I was worried too, but it was due to   
the Force's retiring from my body. It was normal."  
  
"So what about us then?" he asked him even as he exchanged an uncertain gaze   
with his wife. "Is our life-work done too?"  
  
"No," a soft, woman's voice answered him, then the woman from the holo that he   
remembered from way back when appeared beside Anakin. "You and Mara have several   
more years to live, my son, and to love," she added, searching his wife with her   
eyes.  
  
Both Luke and Mara could only gape at the estranged yet known woman. She was   
exactly like what his father had described... like his youngest daughter.   
  
"M... Mother?" Luke asked hesitantly while he tried to commit every memory of   
this vision to his mind.  
  
"I am prouder than proud of you, Luke," she told him warmly. "You made a common   
dream come true." She turned toward her daughter-in-law. "And you, Mara, have   
learnt to listen to your heart and became stronger for it. I couldn't think of   
a better match for my son," she smiled softly.  
  
"Thank you," his wife whispered while she sought his eyes once again, this time   
in awe.  
  
"It is a goodbye, Luke," his father said seriously, "but we will still be able   
to watch over you and your loved ones from time to time... until we see each   
other again. You are strong, my son, stronger than anybody who has ever lived.   
You don't need me anymore," he finished gently, soothingly.  
  
Luke reluctantly nodded, but muttered: "I will still miss you."  
  
"Till next time, my son," Amidala told him softly, making him look back up at   
them.  
  
"The Force will Be With you," Ani finished, then they were both gone forever.  
  
For a moment, Luke stared at the place where they had both stood, then he turned   
back toward his wife and grieved his lost father. Mara also cried; she had   
cared very much about the man who had formerly been known as Darth Vader.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
Once the news of Anakin Skywalker's death reached the rest of the galaxy, a   
hero's funeral was organized by the Senate.  
  
Anakin's son, his wife, their children and grandchildren, everyone was present   
at the main tribune while the rest of the galaxy honored the memory of the man   
who had truly destroyed the Emperor and freed them all.  
  
President Skywalker's speech was particularly moving.  
  
They owed him their happiness, she reminded them all, for without him... the   
future would be a whole lot different.  
  
  
  
THE END  
Liked it? Had fun? Hope so :)  
  
  
SJ: Skyjade@globetrotter.net (any positive stuff is welcome, but negative or   
mean comments will be thrown down the Sarlacc's throat without being read.) 


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